In his book, The Importance of Being Foolish, writer Brennan Manning describes the love of Jesus as "kenosis - a total self-emptying." I could go on and on with examples and my own interpretation of what this kind of love is, but the fact of the matter is that if I do indeed do this, then I/we lose all understanding of Jesus' love. Therefore, in order to find out exactly what kenosis is, we must look at examples from the Bible in order to even begin to grasp such a foreign concept.
Many instances that Jesus had with his followers describe this kind of self-giving self-sacrifical love. I will only refer to a few of them. First, Jesus encounters a woman who was going to be stoned. This instance reminds me of a bunch of cats circling around a little mouse. Obviously, the mouse has nowhere to hide and is bound to be dinner for the intruding felines. In a similiar way, a group of men wanted to stone a woman. Jesus comes in and says: "Whoever is without sin, may you cast the first stone." Jesus completely revealed himself to the men and the woman by allowing his true nature to be exposed. He dealt with a conflicting situation with words rather than with violence. Jesus put himself out there for another person. He not only interacted with women who were considered lowly and without importance, but he treated both sexes with care and unbelievable compassion.
A second encounter worth mentioning is when Jesus heals the man born blind. Imagine being born without sight and a man comes up to you and puts mud on your eyes. In an instant, you are healed. Here, Jesus heals with a simple touch. Yet, this touch goes far beyond the physical healing of sight that this man longed for. This encounter was an expression of the Father's love through his son Jesus; a love that looked beyond social status, class, income, career, family, health, etc. straight to the heart of the person. Jesus had this innate ability to have compassion for anyone that he came into contact with. Jesus was able to look at a person and see a reflection of himself.
Which leads me to my third example. The one that is probably the most cliche of all in our culture yet the one loaded with meaning and significance. Jesus' crucifixion. Aside from the symboliism that the Gospel writers use to describe Jesus' death, the love, the kenosis, is found here. It is found in the blood that Jesus shed, in the words that he uttered, in the way that he lived his life not for himself, but for other people. Jesus was not a force to be reckoned with. He was a human with feelings, passions, desires, hopes and dreams just like all of us. He longed to be held, to be touched, to be told those three simple words that young lovers tell each other: "I love you."
So, how do we live the kenosis kind of love? It's not a simple, three step process. It is a daily reminder that without God, I cannot live this way on my own. It is a daily reminder that his grace is free and that I can do nothing to earn his gift of salvation. It is accepting that his death is already completed, and yet, it is a daily dying to myself; laying down the mindset that "It's my way." It's an outpouring of love that knows no limits and goes to the ends of the earth for a friend. It's a love that is a constant reminder of humility. It is a love that is similiar to that of an expecting mother. She loves her child though she has not seen him/her yet. As one of the writers in the Bible says: "You knew me before I was born. You knit me together in my mother's womb." It's loving another person not because of their college degree or lack thereof; its looking at a person, feeling that tug in your heart and seeing yourself in them.
That's the kind of kenosis love that Jesus gave.
For me, it is a daily struggle to love this way. It's giving up my impulses in order to see another fellow neighbor rise in the sunlight. By myself, its impossible to do this. But with God, I know its possible because everyday, I am experiencing a little bit more of this love that Jesus so often displayed and talked about. It is this love that is one of the two greatest commandments: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and love your neighbor as yourself." You can't have one without the other. You can't say that you love God and hate your neighbor (or visa - vis.) They are, indeed, mutually exclusive.
I'll leave you with one last thought from the Bible.
"Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends."
Imagine if we all loved in this way.
How different would our world be?
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