What is love?

Search the Bible cover to cover and you are bound to find one mention of it or another. But, just what is it? Some liken it to a romantic notion: two people get married because they are in love. Love is supposed to conquer all; some find that offensive because love is not a conqueror, but the end of all means. Then, of course, there is that line from that classic movie, Love Story: "Love means never having to say you're sorry."

What is love? All of these are ideals or abstract concepts. These things really never define love but create even more of a vague picture. Take the romantic notion, for instance. If two people are supposed to get married because they're in love, then I am supposed to be married when I know I'm in love, yet I keep asking "what is love." It looks like I will never be married!

There is no more concrete definition of love than what St. John says: "God is love." Now, we know from last week that God is incomprehensible; our minds were never created to fully comprehend Him. So, to say "God is love" leaves us who cannot reason God with no clearer picture of what love really is!

What we can say and, hopefully, understand, is that God is the embodiment of love. That is, everything that flows from Him does so out of love. All that He does, says, and has given is a result of the love that He is. These same scriptures, cover to cover, are the love of God; they detail His story and how He relates to us. From our creation to redemption to everlasting life, the words He has given and which have been handed down through the generations are the complete story of God's love.

When asked what the summary of the Ten Commandments are, a confirmation student should be able to tell you that it is love. In fact, he or she may be able to quote our Lord and Savior when He was asked what the greatest commandment was:

Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Love for God and love for neighbor—the summary of the Ten Commandments.

"Okay, that's great," you may be saying, "but how do I demonstrate that love?" Well, we take a page out of God's book. Actually, we can take a few pages. On page 1142 of this Bible, it says, "Love does no wrong to a neighbor." On page 1230 of this Bible, it says, "If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother." On page 1155 of this Bible, it says, "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth." Speaking of marriage, on page 1177 of this Bible, after telling wives to submit to their husbands as the Church submits to Christ, it says, "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her..."

Jesus said, "As I have loved you, so you must love one another." He gave them this new, or renewed commandment on the same night in which He was betrayed. Later that evening, He would tell them this, on page 1087, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends." The next evening, God would demonstrate His love for us. For, as it says on page 1135 of this Bible, "[B]ut God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Christ showed for you and me the greatest love anyone could show, sacrificing Himself in our place!

So, as Jesus has loved us, let us love one another. It's easy to say, but just how easy is it to do? It is as easy as saying, "I love God." I'm sure everyone here this morning would say those words without hesitation, and most, if not all, wholeheartedly believe that they do!

But can you say you love your brother or your neighbor? Can you say that you love them as Christ loved them? Can you say that you have love for them that seeks to serve them and desires good for them?

For the two to five people sitting around you, most probably could. These are the same people you sit with every week, why wouldn't you say that you love them and indeed know it to be true. But what about the people sitting a couple of pews away from you? What about people sitting across the aisle from you? What about the man standing in the pulpit this morning? Can you honestly say that you love them as Christ loved you?

You know, we need not stop there! The term "neighbor" extends to more people than those you would meet within these walls. Can you say that you love the people in your neighborhood as Christ loves them? What about the people who live across town from you? What about people in the next town?...and so on and so forth.... Are you willing to serve them and wish good for them, or are you simply polite?

"If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. Whoever loves God must also love his brother."

Recall that Jesus made this renewed commandment on the same night on which He was betrayed. He told His disciples—told us—to love one another the same night He instituted the Sacrament of the Altar. On that night, for the first time, He fed His followers His body and blood, the same body and blood He would give up on the tree of the cross out of His great love for us. He gave them Himself not only to demonstrate His love for them, but to enable them to love one another, as He had loved them.

You see, they were a rag-tag bunch of men who knew no better, like we are. They were a bunch of men who had trouble grasping God, like we do, and in spite of this, still attempted to do so, also like we do. They were a group of men who sought their own well being above that of their fellow disciples, who sought their own gain to the loss of their brothers. They fought amongst themselves, arguing over who was the greatest among them, a couple of them even asking to be seated in places of honor above the other 10!

For this, Jesus gave His life. For them, Jesus gave His body and blood. They sound a lot like us, don't they? It's because we are like them. And it is for us that Jesus gave His life. It was for us that Jesus gave His body and blood! While we say we love God, yet scorn and hate our brothers, God still loves us. He loves us so much, that He sent His Son to die for us in our place. God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And God demonstrates His love for us by giving us His Son's body and blood for our consumption, to forgive our sins, strengthen our faith, and enabling us to love one another.

It is as we pray after Holy Communion:

We give thanks to Thee, Almighty God, that Thou has refreshed us through this salutary gift; and we beseech Thee that of Thy mercy Thou wouldst strengthen us through the same in faith toward Thee and in fervent love toward one another.

In the Holy Supper, Christ has given us a testament of the love He has for us, the desire to live in love toward one another, and ultimately a share in the glory of the life to come. God grant this for Jesus sake.