LOOKIN' FOR LOVE

[1]Have you ever had one of those days where you get a song stuck in your head and it just wouldn’t go away? Yesterday evening right after I read today’s scriptures to reflect during my walk, Johnny Lee’s song, Lookin’ for Lover wouldn’t leave me alone. The chorus of the song goes like this:

“I was lookin' for love in all the wrong places;

Lookin' for love in too many faces;

Searchin' their eyes

Lookin' for traces of what I'm dreaming of

Hoping to find a friend and a lover;

I'll bless the day I discover another heart

Lookin' for love.”

Paul’s message seems to reflect the interior conflict of the self. Our desired self that will: “take delight in the law of God, … but see in my members another principle at war with the law of my mind, taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.” (Rom 7:22-23)

We don’t often refer to the Psalms in our homilies, but today’s psalm speaks of the desire of my heart: “Teach me wisdom and knowledge, for in your commands I trust. You are good and bountiful; teach me your statutes. Let your kindness comfort me according to your promise to your servants. Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight. Never will I forget your precepts, for through them you give me life.” (Ps 119:66, 68, 76, 77, 93)

We know and desire, yet it seems we spend so much time lookin’ for love (God) in all the wrong places. And this is the case when Jesus accuses his contemporaries of studied indifference. “You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?” Using some stern words, “You hypocrites!” “Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?” (Lk 12:56-57) To equally see the obvious signs, within and around them.

St. Pope John Paul II, whose memorial we celebrate today, in his “Theology of the Body” speaks of the four original experiences between God and man (original innocence, intimacy, unity, and sin). All too often we spend an inordinate amount of time focused on sin, our own and others. This is lookin’ for love in all the wrong places. St. John Paul suggests our interior desire and “delight in God’s law” reflects the original innocence shared by God and Adam, while the weakness of our human nature reflects original sin.

In this section of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus repeatedly exhorts us to live the here-and-now in light of the inevitable reality of death. In today’s passage, he encourages us to live in peace with those around us, to be reconciled to those we’ve offended or who’ve offended us. He doesn’t want us to live with loose ends that will have to be tied up after we die. Lest we be turned over and “will not be released until you have paid the last penny.” (Lk 12:59) He wants us to resolve here-and-now everything we can. Repent, reconcile, let it go, and trust God can turn our mistakes into opportunities of further growth and deeper intimacy with His, who is love. This is the path to the experience of original innocence, even if it’s only for a fleeting moment.

We have all heard stories of people who were agitated and upset by regrets, they groaned about unfinished business, as they lay on their deathbed. Jesus doesn’t want us to be one of those people. If we’re lookin’ for love it’s within us, it exists within every person we meet, this is where God dwells in each and every one of us. Listen and trust that He desires to draw us all back into the experience of original innocence.

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[1] Scripture (NABRE), Romans 7:18-25; Luke 12:54-59.