Joyful Love

In the 19^th century, a very popular practice in many American saloons was to offer lunch for free to anyone who came into the saloon.  The hope was that anyone who came in for the free lunch would also buy ample beer or other libations.  To encourage this result, the lunches served were generally high in salt.  As a result, most patrons left the bars with full bellies and much lighter pockets – hence, the idea that “there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.”

In the last century, this became a touchstone for much of our economics.  Milton Friedman wrote a book with this as its title.  We generally accept this as something to remember in everything we do.  Sure, we like to believe we occasionally get something free, but deep down, we know we’ve paid for it somehow or some way.

We even extend this truth to our relationships with other people.  Since we don’t expect to get anything for free, we don’t give anything away for free either.  We give gifts to other people expecting a return of some sort – a gracious thank you, at minimum, or a reciprocal gift in the future.  We love people whom we expect will love us back in return.  When we don’t see the reciprocity we expect, we stop giving the gift.

We cross people off our Christmas card list because they stop sending cards to us.  We cut people who don’t love us out of our lives and our love.  We hate those who hate us.  All of this makes sense in a finite world – a closed system as scientists would call it.  There is only so much resource – food, energy, love – and we cannot afford to spend it without a commensurate return.

Trapped by this seemingly unchangeable truth, our lives become narrowed as we seek to guard ourselves from being cheated of our limited resources.  Our lunches aren’t free and neither are our lives.  Whatever we “give,” we give only grudgingly, with strings firmly attached, as we are always wary that we should be getting something in return.

Jesus reveals a different world and a different truth, one which sets us free.  God’s love is truly free!  It is not conditioned by anything we say or do.  It does not require a return at all.  God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son.  Even though we continually refuse to return God’s love – we call that sinning – God continues to love us with the same infinite, eternal love.  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

And this love liberates and transforms us.  As this love comes from one who is beyond time and beyond space – who created time and created space – it breaks the narrow confines of our finite existence and opens us up to the infinite.  When we give this love away, we continue to be loved by God with the same infinite, eternal love.  Since there is no loss in our giving, there is no need for return.  We give freely and joyfully.

For this reason, Pope Francis titled his first encyclical “The Joy of the Gospel.”  This good news – “gospel” – of Jesus fills us with joy as it frees us from our self-imposed bonds of reciprocity.  Pope Francis strives to project joy in all that he does – and urges us, by his actions as much as by his words – to share his joy by realizing the presence of God's love in our lives.  

Rejoice and be glad, the kingdom of God is at hand.