For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. [John 3:16 (NLT)]
Last February, we celebrated love with the secular holiday Valentine’s Day. We may have given or received flowers, candy, or a card—tokens of someone’s love for us or our love for them. Seven weeks later, however, the flowers are dead, the candy is eaten, and the card in the recycling bin. The day dedicated to “love” is forgotten until next February when the ads for jewelry and flowers remind us.
It was on Valentine’s Day that I read a love letter said to rank among the “fifty greatest love letters of all time.” It was written by the famed composer Ludwig van Beethoven. Intended for an unnamed woman, she is only known as his “Immortal Beloved.” Addressing her as, “My angel, my all, my very self,” the composer continues, “However much you love me—my love for you is even greater. Is not our love truly founded in heaven—and what is more, as strongly cemented as the firmament of Heaven?” The passionate letter continues with Beethoven’s promise that, “I am faithful to you; no other woman can ever possess my heart—never—never.” The ten-page letter concludes with, “Ever thine. Ever mine. Ever ours.”
Beethoven’s is not the greatest love letter of all time because the greatest love letter can’t be found on the internet nor is it filled with saccharine sentiment and romance. While Beethoven wrote words with a pencil on paper, God sent the very Word! Regardless of how beautifully written, no love letter can compare to the one sent by God to His children—Jesus Christ!
When Beethoven declared his love to be greater than that of his “Beloved Immortal,” his words weren’t put to the test but, with His death on the cross, Jesus proved that His love for us is far greater than our love ever could be for Him! Unlike Beethoven’s love for this unnamed woman, God’s love truly was founded in heaven. The composer’s letter was meant for just one woman but God’s love letter was intended for all of mankind. While Beethoven promised her his undying faithfulness, history tells us the composer always was in love with some woman or another. God, however, is not fickle and there’s nothing we can do to make Him love us less or more! Sadly, while God always is faithful to us, we have not proved to be so faithful to Him.
Although Beethoven wrote that he wanted to post his letter immediately, it was found in his belongings several years later after his death and appears to never have been sent. In contrast, we are blessed that God’s love letter arrived here 2,000 years ago. Beethoven may have failed to send the letter because it was a clandestine romance but there was nothing clandestine about God’s letter to us. The Hebrew Scriptures are full of Messianic prophecies and Jesus’ arrival was heralded by angels, welcomed by Magi, and announced by John. While not everybody received Him, Jesus didn’t conceal his love as would a couple of secret lovers.
Perhaps the letter wasn’t sent because Beethoven loved his lady from a distance and she never knew of his love for her. God, however, has never hidden His love from us. Even before Jesus’ arrival on earth, God openly announced his love with every sunrise, birth, butterfly, wildflower, rainbow, and breath taken!
Tomorrow is Good Friday—the day we remember how God showed His love by sending Jesus to die on the cross for us! That dark Friday 2,000 years ago was a day of agony and anguish, torture and degradation, betrayal and abandonment, along with sorrow and sacrifice. Nevertheless, the overwhelming message of that horrible day is one of love! Because of His sacrifice for us, God’s beautiful love letter remains with us forever. Indeed, He is our Immortal Beloved!
By the cross we know the gravity of sin and the greatness of God’s love toward us. [John Chrysostom]
Although the common position for prayer was standing, Jesus fell to His knees that night in the garden of Gethsemane. Luke describes Him as praying so intensely that His sweat dropped like blood. Having used the word hósei, meaning “as if it were, like, as, as though, or much like,” Luke may have meant Jesus sweat so profusely that it dripped from Him like blood. Nevertheless, Luke was a doctor who paid great attention to detail; he may have described hematidrosis, a rare medical condition in which the capillaries rupture causing blood to seep into the sweat glands and then out onto the skin. It’s caused by high blood pressure, a bleeding disorder, or extreme distress or fear, such as facing abuse, torture or death on the cross! Whether Jesus’ sweat poured off his body as if it were blood or He literally sweat blood, the Lord’s prayer was so intense that an angel came and strengthened Him.
Fowlers are professional bird catchers. In ancient Israel, they supplied the market with wild pigeons and doves destined for sacrifice, small birds (like quail) for food, and doves and other birds for caged pets. Since most of us get our poultry at the grocery, we’re probably unfamiliar with the fowler and his methods. To capture birds, fowlers spread nets or set traps and snares on the ground, camouflage them with natural materials, and cover them with grain. Tempted by the food, the birds leave the safety of the sky and come down to the ground where they are caught.
Over a period of 3,000 years, ancient Egypt’s pantheon of gods numbered between 1,400 and 2,000. During that time, some faded in prominence and new gods appeared. Often depicted as part human and part animal, Egypt’s gods had names, unique back-stories, and their own domain and expertise. Each god/goddess was responsible for a certain part of daily life, from motherhood to music, record keeping to funerals, and cosmic order to hunting. While the ten plagues God sent Egypt through Moses and Aaron may seem somewhat arbitrary to us in the 21st century, every one of them was a direct attack on one or more Egyptian god. They were the ultimate “smack-down” between God Almighty and Egypt’s deities.
A Latin word, lorica originally meant armor or breastplate. Because of an ancient practice of inscribing a prayer on the armor or shields of knights who then recited the prayer before combat, lorica came to mean a prayer of protection.
When we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow, I suspect the revered bishop who brought Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century wouldn’t recognize this day in his honor. Originally a religious feast, it’s now a day for parades, sales, “Kiss Me I’m Irish” t-shirts, corned beef and cabbage, music, dancing, and lots of green (including hair, cookies, the Chicago River, milk shakes, and kegs of beer). St. Patrick, however, would recognize the common symbol of the day: the shamrock. Of course, to Patrick, the shamrock, with its three leaflets bound by a common stem, was a metaphor for the Holy Trinity. The shamrock’s three leaflets also came to symbolize faith, hope, and love.
Devotions of the Heart 