Learning to Love

Dear Friends in Christ,

 

Do you know how to love?

 

On the surface, this question seems obvious, because of course we know how to love.  Attachment to a caregiver is the basis of our human development, and we are taught how to love by the people who love us as children.  The relationships of our adult lives bring us deeper and deeper into love.

 

And yet, if you are like me, you sometimes find your ability to love wanting.  You are not kind when you want to be kind.  You are short with the people who matter most.  You struggle to find compassion in your heart for people who think or act differently than you do.

 

Love may be the foundation of our personhood, but it is also the ongoing work of our lives.  The invitation of Jesus is to climb deeper and deeper down into the mystery of love.

 

Our Lenten series this year centers on the theme “Learning to Love.”  Over the course of five Tuesday evenings (note the new day of the week), we have speakers who explore different aspects of love, from the very personal to the communal and even global.

 

What’s so wonderful about the series is that it is not only education around love; it also is an expression of love.  We gather at 5:45 for dinner that nourishes both our bodies and our hearts, as we spend time in unhurried conversation with one another.  At 6:30 our speakers give us food for thought.  And at 7:30 we feed the soul with candlelit compline.

 

As you form your disciplines for Lent, I hope you will make this program a discipline, too.  Come and be taught and be fed and be loved, even as you learn to love others.

 

Yours in Christ,

Anne+