Arms Wide Open

The underlying principle of our faith, as well as that of many other faiths, whether Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, etc., is love. Compassion is the basis of the whole game. Faith, for me, is not literal scientific-type belief in a certain set of historically un-verifiable 'facts,' but a deep and complete trust in the underlying order of the universe. Whether those events took place literally and factually (as I do not believe they did) makes no difference to the story. Something happened in the life of Jesus that changed the way we understand what we call the 'Divine.'

Our reason and intellect led to the development of tools, language, scientific discovery, mathematics, philosophy, technology, and a host of insights and practical applications. Love is the glaring exception. You cannot reason your way to love. Yet, we are (at least the vast majority of us are) naturally inclined toward compassion. This compassion and love are not merely an instinct for species survival, as we are conscious beings, fully aware that we are actually over-populating. Neither is this simply an instinct to preserve our own herd or family, as we regularly put ourselves in danger to protect and help, not only our own but, people (and even animals) outside our 'family' including total strangers, sometimes in far-reaching places we'll likely never see. Reason will not get you to love. True compassion, without limits and without conditions is rare indeed, but we have all felt it to some extent. The unknowable source of this love is what we call 'God.' That is what was meant with the proclamation that, 'God is Love.' That is the mystery at the heart of our faith.

Jesus of Nazareth embodied this radical love. The people who he spent most of his time with were the ones that the rest of society had cast off as 'lost causes.' They were the outcasts and despised. We feel this love and compassion, absent reason, as I stated above, but few of us bother to look into the eye of the homeless, the addict, the teenage mother, even the mentally retarded. If someone is in danger, we will try to help but we had much rather donate to an organization set up so that we never have to actually have contact with 'those people.' That way, we fulfill this unexplained need to be loving, compassionate people without having to touch the 'unclean' people or places. Jesus is the clearest picture of 'God,' as his love was radical and complete. He went into the places most won't venture. He loved the people most had given up on. He was tempted, just as we are, to donate in the temple and then let it be 'someone else's problem.' Instead, he chose to love the whole world, unconditionally and completely.

How many times have you walked past the homeless man on a corner, felt compelled to do something, but made no eye contact and kept walking? You may have tried to justify your actions (as we all have - "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of god." ~ Romans 3:23) by saying or thinking, "I should have offered money for the shelter, but he probably would have spent it on booze," "I should have offered to buy him a sandwich, but I'm sure someone will," or simply, "I'm in a hurry right now, maybe later." The source of that compulsion to love is what we call 'God.' The temptation to keep walking is strong. The action of giving in to that temptation is sin. How many times have we passed a mentally ill person or a severely physically handicapped person, or someone of a foreign culture who may not speak our language, and crossed paths quickly, avoiding eye contact?

Following Christ's example is our highest calling. It is a difficult challenge and a daunting task, but imagine the difference we could make if we swallowed our pride, laid aside our concerns about status and appearance, and dared to love the whole world, unconditionally!

"However the tea is prepared, the primary ingredient is water. We can live without tea, we cannot live without water. Likewise, we are born free of religion, but we are not born free of the need for compassion." ~ the Dalai Lama

"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." ~ attributed to Gandhi