Kasih sebagai Ikatan Kesempurnaan dalam Aksi
Tafsir St. Yohanes Krisostomos tentang Kolose 3:14–17
Keywords:
John Chrysostom, Colossians 3:14, love, Bond of Perfection, 3 HAbstract
This article explores St. John Chrysostom's interpretation of Colossians 3:14-17, focusing on the concept of love as a "bond of perfection." It argues that Chrysostom implicitly yet powerfully presents a comprehensive model of love, involving an inner disposition ("Heart"), a theological understanding ("Head"), and concrete actions ("Hands"), that goes beyond mere moral virtue and dynamically produces holiness, unity in the body of Christ, and the perfection of the new human being. The study employs a qualitative approach, analyzing the primary text of Chrysostom's Homilies 8 and 9 on Colossians in dialogue with modern scholarship on Colossians 3 and Christian ethics. The findings demonstrate that Chrysostom understands love as an essential cohesive principle that integrates the other virtues and that the manifestation of love in these "3Hs" constitutes a transformative dynamic that leads humanity toward its eschatological destiny. This article contributes to Patristic studies and Christian ethics by highlighting the richness of Chrysostom's model of love, offering theological resources for understanding love not simply as an ethical imperative, but as an ontological force that sanctifies, unites, and perfects.
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