Love in Relationships

[00:00:08] Hello, Collective Table Podcast. Welcome back. Our scripture reading for today is John 13:34. [00:00:17] A new commandment I give to you that you love one another just as I have loved you. You also are to love one another. [00:00:28] As we are taking a look at the love that we're called to look at during Advent. [00:00:35] This gracious, wonderful love of God, this gracious love of anticipation of the new Christ. It is an excellent reminder that God's love is not just for us to receive. It is meant to flow through us to others. [00:00:53] Jesus command to love one another calls us to relationships built on grace, compassion and care. The life and work of Cesar Chavez offers an incredibly moving example of what this love in action looks like. Chavez, a devout Catholic and leader in the fight for the rights of migrant farmworkers, embraced nonviolence and compassion as a core principle. He believed in the power of love to bring people together. One of the things he said was, it is my deepest belief that only by giving our lives do we find life. [00:01:32] People who make that choice will know hardship and sacrifice. [00:01:37] But if you give yourself totally to the non violent struggle for peace and justice, you also find that people give you their hearts. [00:01:49] Chavez, united by this vision of dignity and fairness. Along with the farm workers and their allies that he put together fasted and organized boycotts. They grounded themselves in a sharing commitment to justice. They supported one another through prayer, solidarity and acts of kindness, creating a movement where love empowered resilience and hope. [00:02:17] Their unity demonstrated that love is not just a feeling, but a force for transformation. [00:02:25] This historical reminder provides a picture and a lesson that love is not always easy and it is not meant to be carried out alone. [00:02:37] The ability to forgive, persist and advocate for one another often comes from being part of a community that shares values, strength and resolve. [00:02:52] Together we can reflect the radical love of God even in the face of hardship. [00:02:59] For your practice today, take some time to examine how you engage in community. [00:03:06] Do you have a community that teaches you how to love? [00:03:11] Do you have a community where you can advocate and be an ally for somebody else? [00:03:17] Can somebody in your community do that for you today? Perhaps you need to find a community. [00:03:25] Or maybe you have a community, but you haven't made a lot of time for them. [00:03:32] You're greatly missed when you don't bring your own gifts and talents to that community. [00:03:38] Or maybe you're deeply rooted in a community where you are able to practice loving others and feeling the love from one another. [00:03:51] Anyway, take this time to reflect in your practice today. Wonder what's next. [00:03:59] Where do you need to give? Where do you need to receive? [00:04:03] Will you pray with me? [00:04:06] Triune? God, thank you for showing us an example of community and calling us to love one another. [00:04:15] Be with us as we learn the needs of others through community, as we learn to be allies and as we learn to ask for help when we need an ally. [00:04:26] Help us to do great things as a community that shows love and compassion to the world. [00:04:34] Amen.