The ABCs: L is for (Radical) Love
Love is the Sacred in Action
In many spiritual traditions, there is a practice in which a selected scriptural passage becomes the theme for the week. At Radical Spirituality, we do the same thing, but in a radical way.
Each Sunday, I offer The ABC’s of Radical Spirituality, a single, simple word distilled from the common principles of all the world’s faith and wisdom teachings that serves as the exploration for the week. They are the roots of Radical Spirituality. And because I am that person, the words are in alphabetical order. We start with A and go to Z.
It’s a simple practice to get to the roots of what matters on our spiritual path. The best part is that you will get out of it what you put into it. If you just keep the word on a sticky-note on your computer, it will still work it’s magic. But to dig deeper, delve in, dive in, and see what you find.
L is for (Radical) Love
All shall be well, all shall be well…for there is a Force of Love moving through the universe that holds us fast and will never let us go. – Julian of Norwich
Love is probably the most overused and misunderstood word in spirituality. We hear “God is Love,” “Be Love,” “Love is the underlying fabric of the Cosmos,” etc., but most of us have no idea what it really means. All too often, we think of Love in the sentimental way: an emotional feeling of warmth, belonging, forgiveness, or approval. But Spiritual Love isn’t a feeling. It’s an action. Love is a verb. It’s what we do, not what we feel.
In the Hebrew Bible, the word for Love is Chesed. Mentioned no less than 248 times, it means kindness, mutual benevolence, or steadfast devotion. The ultimate manifestation is in God’s unlimited kindness and devotion to the world. It’s also the foundation of Jewish ethics: it is the way we are supposed to behave toward God and treat one another as an expression of devotion to God.
In the Christian tradition, God (and Jesus) so loves the world that he steadfastly offers kindness and mercy, and we are instructed to do the same to each other. Islam also cites Love, or devotion, mercy, and kindness, as the fundamental attribute of Allah, who has likewise endowed humans with the capacity for the same Love. In both these traditions, when we act from Love towards others, we are loving God.
In Sanskrit, there are 96 words for love. Prema is the closest word to Divine Love and in Buddhism, it refers to the Buddha’s devotion to and affection for all beings (which is why he wanted to relieve their suffering). It appears as compassion— an action. Another word is Maitrī (or Metta in Pali), which means “loving-kindness,” also an action. This is why the Dalai Lama can say his religion is kindness.
Notice, in all of these examples, there is no emotional sentimentality. No warm fuzzies. No ego-gratification. Love is simply the way devotion shows up in action.
But, even more radically, devotion comes from the Latin devovere, which means “to consecrate or make sacred.” At its deepest root, then, Love is the way we make things sacred. Our devotion, kindness and benevolence create sacredness. In other words, if we understand Life/God/Source/Ultimate Reality/Everyone and Everything as sacred, we have an obligation to commit ourselves to treat all beings with reverence, with kindness, and with benevolence. Devotedly. That’s Radical Love.
This week, we turn our attention to Love: How do we act when something is sacred to us? What does devotion do?
Deeper Roots
In Kabbalah, Chesed is one of the sephirot, or divine qualities, and it the first that manifests in action (as opposed to intellect). Fundamentally, it describes God’s unlimited kindness and devotion towards creation and the required devotion of people towards God. It’s a mutual agreement.
In other words, God is devoted to us, and us to God, and that requires doing something. It is relational, mutual sacredness manifested through actions. In exchange for his devotion and benevolence, God requires us to uphold the laws He has set forth, most of which have to do with how we treat others. If one or the other party fails in their part of the agreement, there are consequences. Therefore, there is an obligation inherent in Chesed; there is a responsibility on both parts.
Christianity is slightly different. The translation of Chesed into Greek became Agape or Divine Love. Agape is used by Christians to express the unconditional love of God for His children. This implies that God loves (or is devoted to) us even if we don’t love Him back. We don’t have to do anything in return to get all the kindness and benevolence. In other words, in Christianity, we can say we love God or love Jesus, but what do we do to show that? How do we reciprocate?
Jesus gave us a clue. In Hebrew, the Shema (most important prayer in Judaism) says “Thou shalt love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might (resources).” This is the same prayer or commandment that Jesus himself said was the greatest one of all (along with loving your neighbor as yourself) (Matthew 22:37). In other words, devotion to God is the ultimate act of Love, and one of the ways we show it is to follow the guidelines that say we must treat others with kindness, benevolence, and devotion.
Love in this reciprocal context, whether with the Divine or others (aren’t they the same thing?) is what Martin Buber called the I/Thou relationship. It’s the same Lover/Beloved relationship we see in the Psalms, Rumi’s poems, or the writings of some Christian mystics. This is sacred love, exemplified as union with God.
This is the most radical form of Love. It dissolves boundaries between self and other, self and the Divine/Source/Ultimate Reality. When we are one with our Beloved then everything is sacred. There can be nothing but mutual devotion and no other actions possible but those of benevolence, compassion, and kindness.
Reflection Questions
What does Love mean to me?
How do I express Love?
What prevents me from acting with Love?
How can I be more loving?
Suggested Practice
For this week, try to see and treat everything and everyone as if it were sacred.
The honorary duty of a human being is to love – Maya Angelou
this was a perfect post for me today
Love you Sis.