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“Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

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The first major storm of the hurricane season recently came on shore near New Orleans. Unwelcome flood waters drove many from their homes. News reporters stood in the withering downpours, like battlefield journalists, giving blow by blow descriptions of the storm and its’ progress. They brought us live pictures of driving rain, devastaing winds and the valiant efforts of people as they struggled to stand against  the onslaught.

We are also in another storm of sorts. It is has far more power than many hurricanes, inflicts untold amounts of damage and roars through the world virtually unchecked. That storm is the willfulness and assertion of the unrestrained self.

This is no more apparent than in contemporary efforts to redefine marriage to include same sex unions. Advocates of this particular expression of willfulness are storming across the landscape, putting the culture on the defensive. Like all storms, the effects of this movement are not to build up but to destroy. The millions of selves that are wittingly or unwittingly engaged in this effort are well on their way. And this is but one issue among many.

Self-indulgence and unfettered self-expression have become politically correct, even ‘chic’. But this storm of self-expression is wreaking havoc on our society. Hedonism is no joke.

Christian people are called to stand against the maelstrom of human willfulness. And this begins with the self.  At times, this requires from me a return to the diminutive, to repentance. It may also require me to support  the application of human law in defense of society and its’ interests.

At all times the Christian is called to stand against the chaotic forces within life with the law of love. This is the God-given place of tranquility within the eye of the storm. This law is always defining for us and seeks to do no harm to the self or the neighbor. As St. Paul has reminded us,

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

“May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

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