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“I am grateful to have been loved, and to be loved now and to be able to love. Because love liberates.” Maya Angelou
Love, as an agent of liberation is one of the most revolutionary notions that Africans globally must embrace. It is the very foundation from which every freedom movement emanates. The impetus to be free must and always has been grounded in the concept of love. This moves love out of the abstract abode of philosophy and emotion into a concrete reality. It has been pertinent to the survival of the oppressed, and a hindrance to those that have moved in the world as oppressors. Simply put; love is action.
Love has many meanings in the Biblical text. In the Greek lexicon words such as storge, which is natural affection typified by love between family members or philia which is love between friends (hence Philadelphia, City of Brotherly Love) are commonly used. As is eros, a very passionate and romantic notion of love. Yet, the most frequently used word is agape, a selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love. For Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., this form of love is what forms the “Beloved Community” which is the telos of struggle and activism. Agape is revolution. Agape is change. Agape is struggle. God is agape.
This study and sermon series for Black and Women’s History months focuses on LOVE. We will examine love from the perspective of Bell Hooks (Gloria Jean Watkins), who calls the embodiment of love, ‘a love ethic’ which defines love as transformational and a form of living that involves action and the embracing of the lives of others as our own (Ubuntu). This ethic is grounded in Ma’at and Serudj-Ta and is ontologically African. It has sustained us historically and along with Faith and Hope will sustain our future.
Wednesday, February 4
Text: Psalms 103: 6-8
Wednesday, February 11
Text: Matthew 22: 37-39
Wednesday, February 18
Text: Micah 6:8
Wednesday, February 25
Text: 1 Peter 4:8
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