Rev. Moon’s Message for March 19, 2023

Dear friends,

Our monthly virtual book study group meets this Sunday, March 19 at 1 PM (and every third Sunday of the month). We have been studying “Devotional Classics” by Richard Foster and James Bryan Smith. This month we discuss the work of Bernard of Clairvaux (Four Degrees of Love). The chapter starts by asking a very interesting question, “Why God should be loved”?  Bernard of Clairvaux invites us to deepen our understanding of love by introducing 4 different kinds of loves (love of self for self’s sake, love of God for self’s sake, love of God for God’s sake, love of self for God’s sake).

“Apparition of the Virgin to St Bernard” (1504) by Italian painter Fra Bartolomeo (1472–1517). From the collection of the Uffizi Gallery, Florence. Taken from the Wikimedia Commons.

Although I find the author’s definition somewhat unsatisfying (I had many questions reading this chapter such as Can God ever be separated from us? Can we possibly love ourselves without loving God and vice versa, and Can we possibly consider God as the object of our love?), but I thought the author gave us a lot to think about. Please join us in our discussion!  On Sunday at 1 PM, join us on Zoom.

—Rev. Chuck Moon

A version of this message appeared in the Friday, March 17, 2023 version of Tidbits.