fbpx
45.6 F
Spokane
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
HomeCommentaryBlogsThe screaming message: Love is a commandment

The screaming message: Love is a commandment

Date:

Related stories

Seeds of Hope: Thoreau, Jesus, and Enduring Faith in Hard Times

In “The Succession of Forest Trees,” an 1860 address to folks attending a county cattle show (precursor to our county fair), Henry David Thoreau proclaimed his “faith in a seed.”

Let’s Check Our Ageism at the Door When Voting for President

Ageism happens to young and old alike. Though it’s much bigger news when it involves the two presumptive presidential candidates.

This Ramadan, Feel the Hunger and Feed the Hungry

Around the globe, Muslims, including myself, will be fasting for 29-30 days (depending on the sight of the moon), connecting with our Creator and finding solace at home or with our congregation. Ramadan gives us an opportunity to take a break from our fast-paced, hectic routines.

Happy National Sunshine Week: A Call for a More Transparent Government

The week of March 16 is celebrated as National Sunshine Week (this year March 10-16), calling for more transparency in government actions. 

Even My Inner Hermit Needs Connection

Tracy Simmons writes about how she challenges her inner hermit to reach out of her comfort zone to find connection with others, in her career and in her personal life.

By Mark Azzara

Dear Friend,

Until last week I’d never had the opportunity to immediately do what I’d heard during a talk at church worship.

“Love is a commandment,” my pastor said from the pulpit as he spoke about the implications of John 14. It doesn’t depend on your momentary feelings. It is required of Christians.

And I had the immediate choice to love or do something else because most of the rest of my pastor’s words were drowned out by the unbelievable screaming of what looked like a 2-year-old boy in his father’s arms.

At first I tried my best to ignore the shrieking – and, believe me, it was loud – but after a while the irritation of being unable to listen to my pastor’s talk began to sink in.

The dad eventually carried his son out of the pew and the church proper, but we could all hear the screaming tot in the glass-enclosed entry area.

After the pastor’s talk he went on with the usual liturgy but it took a while before the few words I was able to grasp began to sink in. “Love is a commandment.”

The child was just a normal 2-year-old who wanted his own way, just like all 2-year-olds want their way. The child, who I later learned is the grandson of a friend, was acting normally and was incapable of changing.

My irritation was normal, too, but I did have the capacity to make a rational choice. I realized that anger had no place in a worship service and that the dad and his son needed love – love I didn’t have. And so I spent some time during the worship asking God to give me the love for this father and son that would empower me to forgive them for something that wasn’t really anybody’s fault.

And that was the point of the sermon. At least I think it was the point since I couldn’t really hear much of it because of the noise. I had to choose to obey Jesus and go beyond myself, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, to love someone else.

That’s always what love is – a choice to go beyond yourself for the sake of someone else. Jesus did that and paid for it with his life. The least I could do was confess my unwillingness to love so that God could give me the love that they and I both needed.

All God’s blessings – Mark

 

Mark Azzara
Mark Azzara
Mark Azzara spent 45 years in print journalism, most of them with the Waterbury Republican in Connecticut, where he was a features writer with a special focus on religion at the time of his retirement. He also worked for newspapers in New Haven and Danbury, Conn. At the latter paper, while sports editor, he won a national first-place writing award on college baseball. Azzara also has served as the only admissions recruiter for a small Catholic college in Connecticut and wrote a self-published book on spirituality, "And So Are You." He is active in his church and facilitates two Christian study groups for men. Azzara grew up in southern California, graduating from Cal State Los Angeles. He holds a master's degree from the University of Connecticut.

Ad

spot_img
spot_img
spot_img
spot_img
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
spot_img
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x