I look forward to connecting with you again this morning, as I complete my morning Practice, feeling your Presence here with me, and holding you in the Love and Light of God.
I am drawn this morning to look at three or four ideas, not yet sure how they fit together, so I trust that as I write, the connections will become clear. I am reminded of a quote by Brother David Steindl-Rast: “Being in the Presence, being Present, means a continuous encounter with Mystery.” I realize that spending time in prayerful writing each day allows me to move more deeply into that Mystery. It allows time and offers a process through which Spirit can speak to me of things that I need to discover or remember. And with deep faith in our Oneness, I can trust the message to be meaningful to you, as well.
I have been reading and studying Bible Wisdom lately, looking at this ancient Sacred Scripture through new lenses. In our weekly study group (now meeting via Zoom), we are looking at the literary form and function of the collection of books known as The Holy Bible. We are studying the history and cultural context of what we are reading, understanding that these books were written by a small group of Jewish people, for a larger number of Jewish adherents, as a way of recording stories passed down by oral tradition. Like other Eastern writings, these narratives, poems, and songs used symbols to teach lessons, to offer guidelines, and to offer hope to an exiled people who were in desperate need of faith in, and connection with, their God. Also, they lived at a time and in a culture where polytheism, the belief in many gods, was standard religious practice. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans were all polytheistic. We see signs of this in the story of Moses, climbing Mount Sinai, to receive the 10 Commandments. He returns from the mountain only to find his followers worshipping a golden idol! Rev. Wayne Muller, in Learning to Pray, reminds us that “Greek and Roman gods were remote, far removed from the daily experiences of the people, and appeased more out of habit than devotion. They seemed to toy with humans for their own pleasure…People were playthings of the gods, not intimately related to them in a caring, loving way.”
It had never occurred to me that this is one of the reasons the message of the Master Teacher Yeshua was so impactful. It spoke of one loving and caring God. When we read the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible, we still find vestiges of the warring, wrathful, vengeful God, and it confuses us and discourages us from wanting to read further. But when we can understand that this language is simply a holdover from the ancient religious views and practices of the Greeks and Romans, our lens becomes clearer. We can see that the message introduced by Jesus…that God was like a loving parent that would watch over and care for us…was earth-shattering, unprecedented in the lives of the people who heard him teach. In the words of Rev. Wayne Muller, “Jesus’ radical stance was this: Anyone can enter the household of heaven and speak directly with God. The province of God is within us, right here, right now, in our midst. God is not just here in the temple but here in the heart, in the children, in the wheat, in the wind, in the bread of life, in the love we share with one another. God is here, now, and loves us as deeply and intently as a parent loves their one and only child.”
Jesus was a Jewish radical, a revolutionary. He was speaking to people belonging to his own religious faith path and telling them that they had it all wrong, that they didn’t need to make it so complicated. He taught that the Law of Moses…the 10 commandments and the 613 mitzvot (laws for living)…wasn’t necessary to guide their lives…that it could be simplified into two great commandments: love God first and above all else, and love your neighbor. He also redefined neighbor as all of creation. I knew I loved this guy – Jesus was a Jewish radical.
Okay, so what does all of this have to do with me today, on a beautiful April day in 2020? I can take these two great commandments and put them to work in my life. I can recognize my Divine Nature and Connection to the loving Presence that is ever-present, awaiting my notice so that it may Guide my thoughts, words, and actions. We are told in both the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible, and in countless other Sacred Works, that by consciously connecting our hearts and minds with the Higher Intelligence, the Inner Wisdom, the Sacred Self, we are made new…we start fresh. We have the chance to begin again. The book of Isaiah tells us to “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” This strikes me in a powerful way as I look for what is mine to do to contribute to this new future we are creating as a global community. And because this question of how I can contribute can feel overwhelming, I bring it home. In the words of a friend, “It’s all about me.” And it is.
I start small, going within and reflecting on my life. I look at the simple things. If God is making all things new in every moment, where am I getting stuck in old patterns, habits, and ways of thinking, doing, and being? What can I do today to break the sameness? What new things can I try? What old, routine tasks or activities can I approach in new and fresh ways? What can I see through new eyes? I am choosing one thing today, and I invite you to do the same. Allow Spirit to guide the process. What would best serve you, and by the Principle of Unity, serve the Whole, in the highest possible way? Have fun with the process…become an explorer…engage the Mystery.
May each of you enjoy the beauty and splendor of this Spring day.
May we all be well…stay in touch…know our Unity…and thrive!
And may we know the Absolute Beauty and Wonder of this Grace-filled, once-in-a lifetime day…
