1. agape - adjective - wide open; being in the state of wonder.
2. agape - noun - highest form of love, fatherly love, charity
Every Wednesday annually, I make a serious attempt (at which I am usually successful) at participating in agape. Along with a church group of about twenty good samaritans (actually, true Christians) in an old van, I venture out in my quest to enact agape (2) among the multitudes of the down and out, a.k.a. homeless people in a nondescript New Jersey city called Elizabeth. What usually leaves me agape (1) is how easy it is to bring divergent peoples together in one room and witness and live agape (2) full on via the distribution of food.
What always impresses me is how the youngest members of the group, the middle school students, usually quite wayward by nature, can find self-discipline and parcel out meals to over a hundred hungry people off of the streets, proving that when one entrusts another with an important task, age doesn't matter. These kids overcome all obstacles met on the floor and enjoy the responsibilities given to them. Heck, they can even manage the adults quite well while learning what is known as a work ethic. (Sound familiar?) The process is painless. In fact, most of them consider the experience to be "fun." Who would've thought? I stand agape (1) at their willingness to meet all incoming challenges. They leave me with hope that the younger generations will be able to tackle the world's myriad problems.
I am usually in the kitchen, ladling out potatoes, meatloaf, beans, bread, bananas onto to paper plates at incomprehensible speeds. It is astounding that most of the goods don't wind up on the floor. This talent of keeping everything on the plates comes with experience, of course. I figure that it must be like working on an assembly line in a GM plant except that the rewards transcend the monetary since all of us on staff are volunteers. Imagine that: doing a job for nothing but love. I see it as another verse to Lennon's "Imagine." "Imagine all the people working for the sake of love..." Why not? I'm sure John would have approved.
Perhaps my favorite segment of the evening comes after all needy bellies have been satiated and have found their way back out on the streets and we "disciples" sit to recount where we saw God throughout the evening. The kids usually see God in themselves; the adults see God in the kids, and I see God in the homeless people themselves who, on their way out, often come up to the kitchen door to thank me and my staff of friends. They grin with appreciation albeit they have little to be thankful for. Love is, after all, kind, selfless.
In this season that is all about agape, let's try to think more about disseminating love. Christmas, after all, is not about materialism although most advertisers at this time of year might try to convince you that it is. Ignore them. Get back to basics. Be brave. Make a difference, even if it is just in your own neighborhood. Don't just stand agape at agape. Embrace it. Let it become a portion of yourself.
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