02-14-25

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
February 14, 2025
Sing with me…

Love boat
love, exciting and new
come aboard. we're expecting you.
love, life's sweetest reward.
let it flow, it floats back to you.
the love boat soon will be making another run
the love boat promises something for everyone
set a course for adventure,
your mind on a new romance.
love won't hurt anymore
it's an open smile on a friendly shore.

Of course, some of you are not old enough to remember the TV series Love Boat, but the underlying premise was how getting on a big cruise ship could create opportunities for romance and love that would not be found on land. I grew up watching Love Boat, yet I was rather skeptical even as a young kid. The basic storyline never changed—someone boarded the ship feeling sorrowful after some loss, there was a hint of romance with another passenger, some conflict, and then a match made in heaven. 

I think we yearn for such straight forward and smooth pathways to love, all of it wrapped up in less than one hour. Yet for most people, it is a bit more complicated. Whether it is love entangled in romance, or some other expression of love, there is rarely a complexity-free experience of love. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, for anyone who enters into a relationship centered in love, it is going to include at least two personalities, two life-experiences, and two lists of insecurities and fears. Individually, we are complicated, but putting two people together, even those who are strongly committed to the way of love, the complications don’t just double. They grow exponentially. Again, this is not necessarily a bad thing, but an opportunity for love’s capacity to grow in depth and flexibility. 

Giver of Life and Love, guide me into the wonderful dance where love comes to life, becoming something never previously imagined. Amen.