
Another week draws to a close. Pretty soon, my time here will draw to a close. I am eager to return to Joy and Peeps, Christian & Molly, and Annika. I am eager to return to the Trinity community. I feel like my soul has quieted down. Slowed down. I am grateful to Trinity for the allotment of sabbath time, and to the Collegeville Institute for their generous hospitality and fellowship.
Last Friday night, I cooked for my neighbors. We had a lovely time together. Leslie is working on aesthetics and ecology. Fascinating. Fr. Columba was one that I really wanted to meet, as he wrote a book that has been so helpful in my project: Prayer and Community. It was so wonderful to have a warm evening of conversation with them both.
On Saturday I spent the day with Johan and Sonja Hinderlie. I think I received spiritual direction over coffee, then the yummiest lunch in Stillwater. I, of course, had eggs benedict. Then it was back for a walk ON the St. Croix river, recording the podcast, followed by a dry sauna, cool off, steam sauna, and snow bath.
Saturday night was at Jeremey and Michelle Kings. Add Steven Wagner and Jim Bartholomew to chat about intentional discipleship communities, venison, and libation, and you have yourself a dream day.
On Sunday I preached the three morning services at Shepherd of the Valley in Afton, where Jeremey is the pastor. I wrote earlier in the week about the warm hospitality and community life they share at Shepherd.
Then I returned and wrote. And wrote some more. Steven and The Awaken Project stopped by to visit me on their way to Florida. The storm started coming in on Ash Wednesday, but I was able to join the whole St. John’s community for Ash Wednesday mass in the chapel. Abbot John Clausen preached and presided. I then joined Trinity on FaceTime for the Ash Wed family service (5 PM) and the Sanctuary service (7 PM). What a powerful day at Trinity. I love the family service that is so meaningful, participatory, and holy. I am so proud of our staff, interns, and families for sharing the responsibilities for this service.
Wednesday night and Thursday Snowpocalpse. I won’t say much more than—it gets in the way of stuff, but is beautiful.
Friday, I go pick up Joy and Peter for a truncated trip. Better than nothing. I can’t wait to see them. Then I’m returning to Pedro on Tuesday. See you soon!
Here is a soundtrack for today: https://music.apple.com/us/album/slow-me-down-feat-jon-guerra-sandra-mccracken/1667031526?i=1667031532
Here is a bit of writing from this week. I have been in Anders Nygren’s Agape and Eros. Such powerful application to community life.
“Although the poverty of our language is such that in both cases it says ‘love’, yet the two ideas have nothing to do with one another.”1 Anders Nygren’s tome on the motifs of agape and eros has immense application to community life. Eros is, by nature, “acquisitive” and “ego-centric”.2 Eros is the love that is expressed in the land of utilitas. Eve spoke the language of the land of utilitas when she considered the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It was something to acquire, “so she took the fruit.” It was ego-centric, “desired to make one wise.” It was a useful, “good for food.”3 Certainly, eros has sexual expression in covenant-less, narcissistic pleasure that desires to acquire the other. This can hardly be lumped in the same love-category as one spouse cares for the other who has forgotten his name because of dementia’s influence. Eros is also expressed in community. Natural affinities and backslapping can be erotic. It is affirming to live in a community where everyone has the same bumper stickers, watches the same news station, and has the same enemies. How right we are. How wrong they are. We are better. They are worse. We are brilliant. They are idiots. We are good. They are bad. Eros is a drug. Most people, naturally, are drawn to the erotic community of utilitas.
If eros is acquisitive, ego-centric, and utilitarian, agape is self-giving and spontaneous. Nygren points out the the main features of the agape motif:
(1) Agape is spontaneous and “unmotivated”. This is the most striking feature of God’s love as Jesus represents it…When it is said that God loves man, this is not a judgment on what man is like, but on what God is like.
(2) Agape is “indifferent to value”. It is only when all thought of the worthiness of the object is abandoned that we can understand what Agape is. God’s love allows no limits to be set for it by the character or conduct of man.
(3) Agape is creative. God does not love that which is already in itself worthy of love, but on the contrary, that which in itself has no worth acquires worth just by becoming the object of God’s love. Agape does not recognize value, but creates it. Agape loves, and imparts value by loving.4
God agape-loves because God is agape-love. We are agapetoi-beloved because God agape-loves us.5 “Love to the loveless shown, that they might lovely be.”6 How does an eros community break through to become an agape community? How does a utilitas community become a stablitas, a resilient abiding, community? Break through or becoming isn’t something we do, it is something we are. We are the beloved community because we are loved. We love because we are the beloved community. A community built on utilitas will not be changed by imperatives, but by indicatives. “That is why we should…” gives us the destination, but no fuel to get there. We know what we are chasing, but can never catch it. Utilitas is symptomatic of a deeper diagnosis: Identity confusion. Both the younger prodigal son and the older pious son thought they were servants for a master, who happened to be their dad. The prodigal practiced his speech, “I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”7 And the pious son negotiated, “Look, these many years I have served you.”8 Both are living in the land of utilitas. Only the Father’s authority has the power of repatriation, when he calls out to both, “Son.” Servants have tools they use. Sons have gifts they receive and enjoy.
What are the gifts we receive and enjoy when we are home, when the Father has called us “Son” or “Daughter?”
1 Nygren, Anders. Watson, Philip S., trans. Agape and Eros. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1953. Quoting U.V. Wilamowitz-Moellendorff. 59.
2 Nygren, 175-179.
3 Genesis 3.5-6.
4 Nygren, 75-78.
5 1 John 4.1-8
6 Lyric by Samuel Crossman from the Hymn: My Song is Love Unknown. 1664.
7 Luke 15.19 ESV.
8 Luke 15.29 ESV.