From “The Cross in our Context” by Douglas John Hall
Even in human love, when our love approaches something greater than erotic or the filial, a certain sacrifice of self, of our natural superbia, is required and most of the problems clustered around our human struggle to love come down to the immense difficulty we all have in letting go of self and the demand of self for preeminence.
Somewhere in the midst of loving relationships, is that wonderful give-and-take in which people seem so willing to offer themselves to the other(s). I intentionally use the phase “give-and-take” because it is one complete action. If all we do is give…If all we do is take, we are not left with much of a relationship. Not only that, we are not left with much of the wonder of our humanity. The beauty of human love is that we have the capacity to become more human as we are more intimately connected to one another. We are more intimately connected to one another when we are more vulnerable. We are vulnerable when we do not let our fear of letting go of our power and sharing who we are with others prevent us from doing just that. We are also more vulnerable when we do not let our fear stop us from taking what others offer to us. Somewhere in the middle of that give-and-take love becomes defined more fully than is ever possible with mere words.
Connection: Give-and-take. It may demand some boldness and some humility. It may just change who we are with one another.
We praise you, O God Most High, for your Love is able to transform us. We praise you for within that blessed transformation, we are given the gift of our humanity as our lives become ones filled with love for one another. Shape us this day with your love. Amen.
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