Agape and Hesed-Ahava. David L. GoicoecheaЧитать онлайн книгу.
men alike.
For if you love those who love you,
what right have you
to claim any credit?
If we go beyond Jewish ahava to an agape
that loves everyone even our enemies
we will have an agape like God’s hesed
that sends sun and rain to all.
Our love should be like God’s love
so that his kingdom of love might come
and his will be done on earth
as it is in heaven, and this is the main
point of the Gospel of Matthew, which
shows how Jesus’ agape fulfills hesed
by showing us that all belong to the house
of David and all will receive his promise.
It fulfills ahava by showing us how
we should love all, even our enemies.
One might wonder why Matthew’s Gospel
is placed first in the New Testament
as if it were written before Mark’s
upon which it depends so much.
But, Matthew’s Gospel is not only synoptic
in that it builds upon Mark, but
it also contains an Infancy Narrative,
the sayings of Jesus in Q 1, 2, and 3,
and Matthew’s own special material.
The Q 1 sayings and the Infancy Narrative
are earlier than anything in Mark so
it is justified to see Matthew as first.
Once we read the Sermon on the Mount
which is part of the Q 1 sayings
and learn about God loving non-Jews
and sinners then we can understand
how he always loved that way and
we can see this in the Infancy Narrative.
This special hesed can be seen in relation
to the four of Mary’s predecessors:
Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba.
In the Infancy Narrative we also see
a new hesed—agape in the fulfilling
of the five dreams and then in
the fulfilling of the five prophecies.
However, the main message about agape
in Matthew is found in his own perspective
in terms of which he sees agape
as fulfilling hesed and ahava in
terms of nine new dimensions that
let agape build upon Jewish love but
go beyond it by fulfilling it.
According to Matthew we should obey Jesus
and live righteously as did he
to bring about the kingdom of love.
Matthew shows how Jesus revealed
nine new dimensions of his kingdom.
1) It will be an eternal kingdom
2) The chosen people will include all.
3) It will be a kingdom of altruistic love,
4) which will especially love enemies.
5) It will be for childlike believers.
6) The closest disciples will be celibate,
7) that they might bring all to the kingdom.
8) Purgatory will let us all be reconciled
9) and we should love agape more than anything.
So, agape as Jesus revealed it is
1) an eternal love 2) a universal love
3) an altruistic love 4) an unconditional love
5) a childlike love 6) a celibate love
7) a missionary love 8) a purgatorial love
9) and a love that loves love above all.
Matthew shows us how the disciples
both men and women followed Jesus
and worked more and more for
the mysterious kingdom of heaven.
But they often failed to obey him
as did Peter and yet agape reveals
how Peter is a saintly sinner.
So this kingdom of agape is glorious
and the whole task of agapeic lovers
is to give glory to God by manifesting
more and more his mysterious love
so that all might begin to see it.
The only mention of reconciliation
in the Four Gospels is at Matt 5:23–24
where Jesus says:
If you are bringing your offering
to the altar and there remember
that your brother has something
against you, leave your offering
there before the altar, go and be
reconciled with your brother first,
and then come back and present
your offering.
This can be understood as having to do
with the entire family of humankind.
Kierkegaard has shown us the logic
of this reconciliation and with Nietzsche
we can understand its physiology, but
with Levinas and Derrida we can
better understand how glorifying God
can help bring about this reconciliation.
Jesus gives his followers the task
of going out to all persons and teaching
them of this reconciling agape that
aims at bringing us all to love each other.
All nine points that make up agape
as Matthew spells them out aim at
this reconciliation of all of God’s people.
As Matthew shows us Jesus explained
agape in terms of hesed and of ahava
and the notions of glory for the Jews
were connected with this and can be
fulfilled if all Christians become good Jews
in really loving God and all as our neighbor.
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