Today's readings finger love as the most characteristic manifestation of God we can ourselves imitate. Unfortunately "love" has also become one of the most maudlin and meaningless words in our vocabulary. The American Heritage Dictionary defines love as: an "intense affection and warm feeling for another person; strong sexual desire for another person) a strong fondness or enthusiasm; or a zero score in tennis."
The sacrificial, incarnational nature of Christ-like love has been lost amid our claims that we "love" our favorite soft drink, baseball team, or partner-of-the-moment. Love has become such a nebulous, fuzzy, catch-all term that we resist thinking about what must be present for true love to exist and to flourish - for love to be able to "bear fruit."
