Scripture: Romans 12: 9-12
Paul’s letter to Romans, is very pregnant with theology of reproof and incitement; and its expressions are fluent, copious and they engage with all who read it in all ages. It was addressed to his friends and not to a church at Rome. In the letter, Paul sets forth the Christian faith in a systematic fashion, and it is both theological and didactic. Romans is notably lacking in data having to do with the end of the age, rather it consists of an exposition of foundational truths, essential for a practical Christian life. In chapter 12 Paul speaks about the Christian in a holistic manner, insisting that the true Christian life is devoted to love, for God and one another. Let me concise today’s reflection to the verses beginning from 9 to 12 of Chapter 12.
These verses form the touchstone, to identify a true Christian. Paul insists on the efficacy of love and its manifestations, of which serves as the magic spell, in the harmonious living of this newly formed group of saints in Rome. This pericope starts with the exhortation, “let the love be genuine”. This exhortation is to equip the members of the community, not to fall in hypocritical love, as such love in its way and in its end is hypocrisy. Paul knows that only a genuine love could redeem human relationships from deception. It is easily communicative to every one of all ages irrespective of their biases, because the onslaught of hypocritical love, is the most dreaded cancer of all relationships. Unlike genuine love, hypocritical love is characterised by its difference, in its feelings and motive, and its expression and deed. These hypocritical love relationships are often categorically bondages, enforced by power relationships, and thus dictatorial rather than self giving mutual love relationships. It becomes clearer to us, when we know the context in which Paul says this. Greeks emphasized on honour of the emperor very much. So soldiers swore not to "give preference to another" above Caesar. Hence this hypocritical love was very much familiar to the people in Rome. This hypocritical love, communicates only power and never intimacy.
Like any other virtues, love also, when becomes hypocritical cannot do any good, rather it makes claims without any commitment. It cannot give any virtues, rather than making some moral claims tainted with dictatorial power, that yearns to regulate the love in people. Hypocritical love always tries to honour rules, duties and obligations, and thus individuals with tender hearts cannot survive in it. Hypocritical love is all about maintaining the status quo of the prevailing system. In other words, hypocritical love is a “love for rule”, but through this didache to Romans, Paul introduces the “rule of love.”
The Greek term which Paul uses to denote this genuine love is “Philadelphia”, which can be translated as brotherly love, or the love between people in the household. Paul uses the term “brotherly love” to enhance the harmonious living of people in this Roman community of believers. We may not be confused if we add other words denoting love, such as Eros and Agape to this Philia, since we had a long run in faith and theology, and since we know that Philia alone cannot bring harmony to the human beings, in any society.
If we are the real proponents of genuine love, we need not narrow down it to the so called sacred framework of Brotherly love. Any love that finds the “loved other” as the revered and preferred one is genuine love. The one with genuine love evidently expresses that affection, in the honourable preferences of the “loved other” esteeming the “loved other” than oneself, and remain in constant obligingness and courteousness. In honouring, revering and preferring the “loved other,” one may not remain as the loved one of the system, which seeks moral observances that uphold its prestige. So we are left with, either to choose hypocritical love under the conditions stipulated by moral systems, or to choose genuine love in which intimacy, honour, affections and passions would be celebrated.
Today being the St. Valentine’s Day, as we hear this word, there will be many around the world, whose intimate love is checked by the “moral policings” of our times, seeking justification from the moral systems. This is our time to recall to our memories, the savage acts of Sri Ram Sena happened in Manglore in the past years, and the acts of several other fundamentalist groups such as Shiv Sena, Bharath Sena, Namoos e- Risalat etc. At the face of these instances, we may recite that Pharisaic prayer, “We thank you God, for we are not like them.” But we can’t just get away, as we too concur to such moral standards within our social spaces, and pass moral judgements on our brothers and sisters in our blind hypocritical love.
As we conclude this thought, let us reiterate the story of St. Valentine, who had to lay down his life for the real lovers. The Roman Emperor Claudius the second ordered that, all his royal soldiers must not marry as he believed, marriage will make men weaker. St. Valentine saw the trauma of young lovers, who gave up all hopes of being united in marriage, and hence he decided to counter monarch’s order and unite men and women, who love each other in marriage. This angered the emperor who gave the order to execute Valentine. The cause for which valentine stood for, beckons us also to shed our hypocritic stance towards love, and dare to express genuine love. It is about the genuine lovers that verse 12 says that, they will rejoice in hope, they will be patient in tribulation and they will continue in prayer, because they have something to anticipate beyond this deplorable, unfortunate law abiding system.
So we have a choice before us. What would, we choose?
May the Spirit of God, that honours our passions, guide us in making our choices. Amen.
[Ajay T. Oommen,a final year BD student in Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute, lead this meditation on the Valentines Day in the Gurukul Chapel,Chennai, India]
