How to Have an Unblemished Love Feast

These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever. Jude 1:12-13 (NIV)

One morning while wandering through the scriptures the Holy Spirit guided me to Jude. Who reads Jude? It’s a small, one-chapter, next-to-last book in the Bible. When compared to other books in the New Testament, Jude seems like a little blip, or runt on the team (I say this in love as I myself have been in that position). Other books tell of amazing men and women giving their lives to spread the Gospel and the very account and words of the Son of God. Jude contains one chapter and twenty-five verses. As I read Jude, I found myself drawn into such imagery and pertinence that I laughed out loud and was impacted yet again by God’s amazing nature to drop life lessons out of nowhere.

How many people do we know that we would absolutely label as “blemishes at our love feasts”. I read and reread this passage. And I laughed, a lot, because that is what I do when God reveals something to me. I laugh in amazement. As a result, I spent some time in Jude examining myself and my own choices as well as what God desired me to apply moving forward.

Research on the authorship of Jude resulted in learning that Jude almost did not get picked for the team. And by the way, this discovery furthered my image of this book as the runt but I tried not to get lost in this imagery and again found myself laughing. Much debate was given evidently to it’s inclusion into the Canon by early leaders of the church but this little book stood strong and earned its place to eventually be included alongside other mighty power hitters. It always amazes me when words written almost 2000 years ago hold strong to accurately representing human nature, society, and just our general struggle against being full of ourselves.

Jude begins by saying “Hey guys, I was going to talk to you about our amazing salvation we have but I changed directions and felt I should warn you about a few things.” He is very clear in the intent to root out the potential problem.  Don’t you just love those people in your life? We should be that for each other, taking the time in love to voice concerns and be honest. I try to keep these people close. Jude expands upon his concerns that there are clearly some self-serving people among the midst of his church peeps that could potentially bring others down. I absolutely love imagery in verses 12 and 13: “Blemishes at your love feasts”, “clouds without rain”, “wild waves foaming up their shame”. Jude describes them as self-serving, perverted, grumbles, fault-finders, and irrational. The behaviors listed included polluting their own bodies, being full of themselves, and manipulating others for their own gain. My personal favorite description that caught my eye was “they slander whatever they do not understand”. This is likely due to the fact that this behavior in others always triggers my frustration. When I read this I laughed yet again because I am always amazed that there really is nothing new under the sun, but that’s another study altogether.

What I began to find as I read through this tiny little book was that it is packed full of good advice. First, it identifies the potential in others to sideswipe us and blemish our love feasts. (I really love this phrase) Further study on this phrase revealed a more descriptive understanding as those who morally wreck the brotherly love and good will you are trying to maintain. I think to those times when I am having a perfectly fine day, playing nice with others, being productive, and the circumstances take a turn or someone’s behaviors affect me in a way that I want to go Chuck Norris on the situation and entertain throat punching. I do not, of course, as I choose to try to remain Christ-like and not blemish my love feast or that of others. Oh how quickly we can go from love feasting to being the very one that is now a cloud without rain or a wild wave of the sea.

Thankfully, Jude doesn’t just expose the problem. The remaining verses guide us gently into a loving response. We are reminded that, while we should be careful of the influence others have on us, we should be merciful and loving as well as preserving our own selves and mindful of our own behaviors. I think to times when I know I have been the autumn tree without leaves or the wave foaming up my own shame. I have polluted myself or the lives of others as we all have at some point because we are human and have been given the choice to. It is going to happen. What I would hope is that in extending grace and mercy to others I would be given that in return. This also includes showing mercy and grace to ourselves. Jude ends with an important focus. We are encouraged to build ourselves up in faith and praying as we draw close to the Holy Spirit. We are, in ourselves, unable to accomplish the task of keeping our love feasts unblemished or leaves on our trees. 

“To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy.” (Verse 24)

Within ourselves, we will not find the capacity to love, show mercy, and not stumble through life. It is only through drawing close within a relationship with our Saviour Jesus Christ will we find the ability to recognize behaviors in ourselves that could potentially divide us from God’s will and cause us to veer from the ordered steps of our journey.

What in your life blemishes your love feast or causes you to interrupt the living in love that you are trying so hard to accomplish? Is it the behaviors of another that you let occupy your mind space? How are you responding? How should you respond differently?

So Jude has become for me like the little runt of a player who has been benched but finally gets in the game to hit a home run, score the touchdown, or sink the three-pointer. What an amazing reminder yet again of how we can lean on the Holy Spirit to guide us into mercy, grace, love, and joy! My prayer for today is that our love feasts stay unblemished! Feast on!

Author: Kim Carroll