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	THE URGENCY OF LOVE

The Gospel

LUKE 2:51-52

Jesus went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.

The Media

"Look After You"

The Fray

"If I don’t say this now, I will surely break as I’m leaving the one I want to take. Forgive the urgency but hurry up and wait—my heart has started to separate. Oh, be my baby, and I’ll look after you. Will you be the one I’ll always know. When I’m losing my control, the city spins around, you’re the only one who knows, you slow it down. My love leans into me."

There is a certain urgency connected with the development of any human love relationship, as we can see outlined in The Fray's song "Look After You." The couple wants everything to work out right away, more or less: they want the communication to be present, they do not want the pain of wondering whether the other really likes him or her, they do not want to have to read each other's minds to figure out what is going on, they want to "feel good" about the way they feel. They want the relationship to be "there," and then forget about it, not having to work at it, and they want it "right now."

Love relationships, however, whether romantic or not, are not like that. The love relationship that developed in the family that we have come to call "holy," for example, presents a good lesson. Jesus, Mary and Joseph spent time and effort to make their family be a good one. The evangelist Luke describes years of effort as he says that Jesus "advanced in wisdom and age and favor" with his parents. The love that came about grew over time and only with effort.

The very definition of love involves the idea of "development." Love simply does not just happen, even though our human natures want it to. Any love relationship must grow, and in order to make it grow, we have to work at it, and give it time. The only way to bring romantic love about, especially within a culture that calls for the couple to choose each other like ours, is to work at developing it, no matter how urgent we may feel about its presence.

THOUGHT

What is your own personal definition of love?

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, you have given us the example of the holy family--Jesus, Mary and Joseph--as the way to grow in love of each other. Help us learn that we have to work at the love that we want in our lives, giving it the time and energy necessary. Be with us, we pray.

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike