“Love soft as an easy chair
Love fresh as the morning air.
One love that is shared by two,
I have found with you.
Like a rose, under the April snow,
I was always certain love would grow.
Love ageless and evergreen,
Seldom seen by two”
That is a selection of lyrics from the song “Evergreen,” performed by the great attorney Mike Hurley - or Barbara Streisand, or Debby Boone, if you prefer.
Like many songs, this one speaks of earthly love between a man and a woman. Since all such love—true love—is a shadow of and based on God’s love, I thought that would be a good place to start, especially since this is Love Sunday, the last Sunday of Lent.
So how is this Love Sunday? Well, let’s look at one of the most beautiful discourses on love the world has ever known - the Magnificat, which is nothing less than Mary’s song of love extolling the love of God for her and mankind.
Let’s read through it again, and this time imagine it not as a text but as a song of exaltation, a joyful and heartfelt recalling of God’s love.
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
Mary’s song is no less our song, though the circumstances are different, the love exhibited by God is no less powerful. Like Mary, he also looks upon our lowly estate - when we were sinners Christ died for us. When we were dead in our sin, God loved us and sent his only son. Our estate was like Mary's in that we were both born of the flesh and not equal to God. Yet God loved us and showed favor to us. To both us and Mary He gave Jesus. He gave Jesus to her to nurture and love and He gave Jesus to us to be the Lamb of God who would take away our sin - and one could even say to nurture in our hearts and love. Because of God’s grace, we are blessed, for God Almighty has done great things for us.
God has shown his love for us by uplifting the lowly by showing his grace to those captive to sin and giving them a place in His kingdom - here and in the world to come. For God, the most meager of people have value. Conversely, he brings the proud low, not as a punishment but as an act of grace, so they might repent and turn to Him, much like a father would correct and direct his child so that He might return to the right pathways. He fills those who hunger for Him with His rich love, and those who live for themselves He sends on their way to eat the bitter bread of separation.
Lastly, God has shown His love to us by being steadfast and faithful in the promise He gave to the world through His people Israel from Abraham forward. He has given us salvation. He has graciously grafted us into the branch that is Jesus, so we too might partake in His Kingdom forever.
So yes, today is Love Sunday, but in our relationship with God, every day is a day of love - His love for and ours for Him and one another.
“For God so loved the world, He gave his only Son, so that all who believe in Him, might not perish but have eternal life.”
We must no longer ask as the psalmist asks,
“How long, Lord God Almighty, will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people?”
We need no longer lament as the psalmist laments,
“You have fed them with the bread of tears; you have made them drink tears by the bowlful. You have made us an object of derision[b] to our neighbors, and our enemies mock us.”
And we need no longer plead as the psalmist pled,
“Restore us, God Almighty; make your face shine on us that we may be saved.”
God has looked with favor upon us, though we did not deserve that favor - just as He looked with favor upon Mary, a simple peasant girl. He has loved us as He loved her. We truly are - like her - blessed.
Let us pray: Lord God, you are loving and gracious beyond measure. I thank you for looking on my lowly estate - upon my sinfulness - and lifting me by faith so that I might walk with you. Help me to show this same love to the world, just as Jesus showed this same love through His words and actions. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.