“And as they liked not to have God in their knowledge, God delivered them up to a reprobate sense, to do those things which are not convenient; being filled with all iniquity, malice, fornication, avarice, wickedness, full of envy, murder, contention, deceit, malignity, whisperers, detractors, hateful to God, contumelious, proud, haughty, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, foolish, dissolute, without affection, without fidelity, without mercy. Who, having known the justice of God, did not understand that they who do such things, are worthy of death; and no only they that do them, but they also that consent to them that do them.”
“The voice of my beloved knocking: Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is full of dew, and my locks of the drops of the nights” (Song 5:2), but “their madness is according to the likeness of a serpent: like the deaf asp that stoppeth her ears: which will not hear the voice of the charmers” (Psalm 57:5-6). God’s presence is in everything, He is knocking at the gate at all times, whether inviting those that have not heard the Gospel to live a life according to right reason, or Logos, the Greek term used by St. John for “Word,” or to the fullness of the Gospel, a live of love. Those that lived upright lives but did not know about Christ will hear His message: “The hour cometh, wherein all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God. And they that have done good things, shall come forth unto the resurrection of life; but they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgement” (John 5:28-29). Human reason can lead one very far, though with great risk of error, but in closing one’s ear both to reason and to the Word, a life turned in on oneself, contrary to love inevitably ensues. Even pagan philosophers knew that life had to be lived for virtuous love, as Plato said in his Symposium, “We will find wholeness, if we let Love be our guide and our commander.” A life lived for oneself is consumed with self and the things to satisfy this same self, not turning outward for the sake of love. It is a deterioration of love to be filled with malice, lust, desire for things, hatred, rumors, speaking against a neighbor, fights and arguments, deceiving another… all that is contrary to the sparkling bond of love: “Let the love of the brotherhood abide in you” (Hebrews 13:1). It was asked amongst the Desert Fathers why things seemed more difficult and with less fruit than in years past, at which one responded that it was because in the previous times in the desert, each built each other up, encouraging each other in love, and the whole group flourished. In constantly bringing each other down, work slows, because the heart is heavy and cannot run to its God. A heavy heart is signified by St. Peter, weighed down by guilt and discouragement, whereas St. John was filled with joy and purity: “And they both ran together, and that other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre” (John 20:4). Love of God instead manifests in joyful obedience to His commandments, that He may be loved through you at all times, and this is shown in a radiant love of your neighbor: “This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12). With a tender love of God, you will follow His commandments, taking care not to do what is displeasing to the One you love, and will follow in His way of love rather than given to the various sins and vices seen here. To sow seeds of love is beautiful work, and the Lord calls you to much of it: “He that gathered in the harvest, is a wise son: but he that snorteth in the summer, is the son of confusion” (Proverbs 10:5). The absence of love for others leads to a heart without affection, fidelity, or mercy: “He that is of a perverse heart, shall not find good” (Proverbs 17:20), because it will not know love. It won’t know the joyful warmth of giving love away, but is turned in on loving itself, or at best poorly loving others. Having no affection, or inordinate affection for that which is sinful, they fall into knowing that there must be a true way to love that they usually hold others to, and do not realize that the punishment of this type of love is death. Spiritual death is a lack of divine love, without authentic love of neighbor, and to encourage someone on this road is to participate in what they do: “For he that saith unto him, God speed you, communicateth with his wicked works” (2 John 1:11). There is a gentleness that lacks justice, and this is not a virtue, but to be a pushover. It is a gentleness that knows how and when to correct that is a true flower of righteousness, for “he that loveth him correcteth him betimes” (Proverbs 13:24), and “he that loveth correction, loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is foolish” (Proverbs 12:1). It is in pruning a neighbor that is willing to be pruned that correction is most apt, rather than in rebuking someone that has no desire to change: “He that teacheth a scorner, doth an injury to himself: and he that rebuketh a wicked man, getteth himself a blot. Rebuke not a scorner lest he hate thee” (Proverbs 9:7-8). Plant love that you may grow love, and then don’t afraid to correct those that are growing into the beautiful flowers they are called to be, for those are the ones that are in a place to be fashioned.