Last night my good friend Karin and I trekked over to Salamanca (due west) for the night. I must say that Salamanca is definitely fun, college town that reminded me of living in Lawrence, KS. As we walked the streets there were college students everywhere dressed as cupid or disfrazado (dressed up) as any number of things. We later found out they just finished exams and it is the day of the patron saint of one of the facultades (school of law or whatever it was), so everyone was going out all dressed up. Our purpose for going was to see some friends of mine who lead a college ministry there called "En Vivo" and have both a local and a weekly meeting. Students here in Madrid are mostly still de examenes, so it was a good night to take off. (Let me just say that it was great - the trip, the meeting, and the people! It reminded me a lot of a weekly meeting we'd do in the States, with a bit of a Spanish twist.)
The subject, being Valentine's Day, or día de enamorados / día de san valentín, was LOVE. Sofía, one of the staff at En Vivo, gave the talk. She talked about her and Jesse (her husband)'s first date and how their relationship unfolded with a lot of witty comments along the way. Then she talked about the book Song of Songs from the Bible. She read Song of Songs 2:7, "Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires."
She then talked about the three types of love found in Hebrew. Both Rob Bell (with Nooma - www.nooma.com) and Sofia both described these loves with three flames, which can burn individually, but burn much brighter and more fully together.
First is "raya," which is the type of love you have between friends. It is found in Song of Songs 4:7 (amongst others), "You're beautiful from head to toe, my dear love, beautiful beyond compare, absolutely flawless."
Second is the word "ahava." As Rob Bell explains it, "Ahava is the love of the will... This is way more profound than fleeting romantic feelings. This is much more than temporary urges. Ahava is making a decision to join your life to the life of another. This is an emotion that leads to commitment. Ahava is found in Song of Songs 8:7, "Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned."
The third Hebrew word for love, which is also found in Song of Songs, is the word "dode." It is the one we are more accustom to being associated with "love" at least in many contexts. It is the sexual, physical element in a love relationship. Dode literally means "carouse," "rock," "caress." It's the love described in some of the more explicit passages in Song of Songs. "May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love is better than wine." (Song of Songs 1:2)
As Sofia (and Rob Bell) said, these three types of love, these three flames are meant to burn as one, moving from a small little spark or flame on a candle to a much larger, more sustaining fire. In the Nooma film Rob Bell made, it goes from a small fire to a huge bonfire you can see from miles away.
Love is not just physical and sexual, but also friendship and commitment. The "ahava" (willful love) and "raya" (friendship) are what take more intentionality and time. "Dode" love is important too, but it generally is not the hardest of the three to create.This is really the bare basics of the talk, but I thought it was a great way to introduce the idea of what God says about love and also a great reminder of the type of love God desires for us - one rich and full of life.
