How to command love

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Rosalind C Hughes

Can love be commanded?
Does the demanding not crucify love?
Gentleness can be commanded, surely –
the salve, the oil –
resistance, too, the other cheek
slowly turned to point away
from violence. Feed
my sheep can be commanded,
break the bread, spill out
the wine, wash the feet
and wipe them with tears, lay
down in the dirt of the grave
of a friend; but love?
Can love be commanded?

About Rosalind C Hughes

Rosalind C Hughes is a priest and author living near the shores of Lake Erie. After growing up in England and Wales, and living briefly in Singapore, she is now settled in Ohio. She serves an Episcopal church just outside Cleveland. Rosalind is the author of A Family Like Mine: Biblical Stories of Love, Loss, and Longing , and Whom Shall I Fear? Urgent Questions for Christians in an Age of Violence, both from Upper Room Books. She loves the lake, misses the ocean, and is finally coming to terms with snow.
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