Last week we continued in the Adult Bible Study series of #love. After a week of homework that focused on us trying to sit in our belovedness we returned together.
Opening in prayer we then started to hear how sitting in our belovedness was. We discovered that most of us found it hard — hard in surprising ways for some & hard for others as they were more comfortable “doing” something loving (as compared with sitting with understanding that we are loved). There too were some delightful surprises with some leaning into different ways to enjoy the understanding of being beloved — taking some more time to do something, enjoying a sweet snack, being still. In all it was amazing to hear some thoughts about how to sit in our belovedness.
And then we listened to 1 Corinthians 13. We read the scripture 3 different times & in 3 different translations. 1 Corinthians 13 is that chapter that gets us to,
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends…And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
We read this because we realized in week 1 — we might be called to love, to #love — but what exactly is love? Is it a noun? A verb? What does love look like and especially what does it mean when while many people might say the word, it seems to be empty and without meaning? And so we are trying to figure out — what does love mean? What is love? And that question brings us to the homework of the week. A choose your own adventure type of homework — where we are invited to choose 2:
- Think about who is the most loving person you have ever known. Meditate on why (or how you know) they are the most loving — what makes them loving?
- (an option that was also named was thinking about someone it is HARD to love — and thinking about why! If you do this — the expectation is not that you would focus too much on the actual person — & definitely no need to share the person’s name during the check-in! (always remembering confidentiality!) — but to consider the traits and/or characteristics which might prove challenging to love & why that might be.)
- Talk with at least 1 other person about love. Really have a conversation and deeply listen to what they have to say.
- Write down your own definition of love. (You might think about, is it a noun? A verb?…)
And in case you need some starter definitions if you choose to write your own definition — well, here are a few quotes that we didn’t hear last week but might get some thoughts flowing,
Thich Nhat Hanh, “Compassion is a verb.”
Urban dictionary, “A word used by many, but understood by few.”
Urban dictionary, “Love. We think about it, sing about it, dream about it, lose sleep worrying about it. When we don’t have it, we search for it; when we discover it, we don’t know what to do with it; and when we have it, we fear losing it. It is the constant source of pleasure and pain. But we can’t predict which it will be from one moment to the next. It is a short word, easy to spell, difficult to define, and impossible to live without.”
Looking forward to seeing y’all Sunday and hearing the wisdom that will be uncovered. Be blessed until then!
(And even though it’s not assigned homework, the invitation from God is always — ALWAYS — to sit in our belovedness. God is #love initiator & originator…)
Blessings ~
Rev. Sabrina Slater