To Love as God Loves

A pretty amazing person advised me to document all of the passages, thoughts or theories that intrigue me as I am plugging through my Master's degree in Theological Studies- this blog is my attempt at doing so. This will help me not only to reflect on what I am learning in my theology classes, but also to hopefully inspire others to take a little time and think about how our lives are interwoven with the Divine. I am an aspiring (Catholic) theologian who hopes to integrate Women's Studies and Sociological issues about sexuality and gender with theological studies. Right now I am fairly certain that I will end up in the Morality and Ethics segment of Theology, having dabbled in a few other fields during undergrad and found them to be not where my passion truly lies.

Currently I am in an online class called Foundations in Church history and Historical Theology, and we are required to read about two books a week. The book that I am reading this week is entitled To Love as God Loves: Conversations with the Early Church by Roberta C. Bondi, and I must say that I have fallen in love with her take on theology. Here is the passage that really stuck out to me as I was reading:
" How can we make a place for legitimate claims of love in a culture that defines being human in terms of the expression of individuality and independence over against love?" (26)

In our individualistic, "I don't need any help I'll help myself" culture, growing closer to God is very often not associated with loving other people. In her chapter on love, Bondi states that a movement towards God necessarily moves us closer to other people, and vice versa. When we grow closer in love with other human beings, we grow closer to God by recognizing the divine in them.

Many modern Christians live under the false supposition that they could be "real" Christians if not for the other people in the world. In most people's minds, being "spiritual" means growing closer to God in an individualistic way, without bothering with the real, flesh and blood needs of the people around them. "I can't live a spiritual life when I have to deal with this person or this messy situation," I sometimes whine. Bondi states that "Often [Christians] can hardly tolerate other people's real problems or even their personalities. Real People tug them away from the pure, spiritual love of God" (26).

What is SO wrong about this assumption is that the Incarnation teaches us that God IS present in the nitty-gritty, impoverished, mentally unstable complexities present in this thing we call daily life. We can grow closer to God by growing closer in love with the world and all of its problems.

Some thoughts that I took away from the beginning of this book are that the church does have a duty to involve itself with secular, social issues, namely because the kingdom can and should be realized in the flesh-and-blood reality here and now, not in a distant, utopian realm. Secondly, closing your heart to love and vulnerability is never going to lead you to personal fulfillment as a beautiful creature of God. Loving and opening oneself up to another is natural; it is actually unnatural to close off your heart and guard yourself in the entrapment of your individuality. Thirdly, as Bondi noted, "Love of God and love other people are so closely related that it is impossible to love God and have contempt for the sins and weaknesses of other people at the same time." Pious judging has no room for love in it.