ON LOVE; PART DXXXIX
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GoodWill IS Love in Action
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“The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).
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“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:36-40).
In the last essay we discussed the ideas of and the reality of the Masters admonition to us ALL on Love and His clarification of the Jew’s doctrinal ideas regarding who it IS that should be Loved. As we noted, this lesson from nearly 2000 years ago has NOT be learned by the majority of the world as there continues to be Love expressed ONLY to those that we DO NOT object to in some way. His words however are clear:
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you“
The message here IS that the doctrines and the traditions of the Jews are wrong and that ALL men should be Loved and while this IS a difficult thing to do as a man in the world, it IS a requirement for those who desire to be among His disciples and for those who would be accounted worthy of the Kingdom of God. We discussed how there IS NO criteria attached to this; there IS just the idea of the neighbor and we KNOW what this means by His example and by the hard Truths found in the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan stops to help the Jew with whom there IS national and religious enmity and there IS our example and, in the way that this parable is constructed by the Master, the Jew’s own idea of the neighbor being one’s own countryman or one that is close is easily disposed of as it IS the priest and the Levite, those knowledgeable in the Law, who walk on by. So the Samaritan Loved his neighbor and the Jew DID NOT is the moral of this story and the lesson IS that ALL men are one’s neighbor and one’s brother. In previous essays we cited the treatment of the stranger in the Old Testament in this regard, how he is to be seen and treated as one who belongs except in regard to some religious rites which he could attain if he were to become a ‘practicing’ Jew; in ALL humanitarian ideas the stranger was made equal to the Jew and a part of the Lord’s sayings regarding Love do include the stranger. There are two sayings from Leviticus that we should cite here as example:
- “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:18)/
- “But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 19:34).
In the first saying we find the original saying that the Master repeats as the second of His Great Commandments and in the second we find the same saying that includes the stranger. Here, instead of seeing this as a clarification of the previous idea of neighbor, the Jewish traditions and then the Christian simply ignore the words of the Lord. In the simplicity of these ideas we have that Truth that one should Love “the children of thy people” AND that the stranger “shall be unto you as one born among you” AND that in both of these “thou shalt love him as thyself“. There IS a resounding clarity here that IS only mollified by reading these words according to the ways of man instead of according to the intent of God and of the Christ. And this goes on yet today as the idea of neighbor has not yet, after 3500 years, taken hold. It is interesting that while Christian commentary and even some teachings acknowledge that this idea is that we Love everyman and that the Jews restrained these ideas to those close nationally or religiously, it still has NOT taken root in the hearts of many as IS evident in a simple look around the world. The emphasis of the Christian Life IS seldom placed upon this most important part and that part of which the Master tells us that “There is none other commandment greater than these” and that “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” as we read in the Great Commandments that we are still carrying at the head of our essays.
And this IS what the Master IS speaking about here to His disciples and the multitude that are attending to His words. In this Sermon on the Mount the Master’s teaching IS that to Love thy neighbor IS the law and that the added part IS doctrine and should be converted into the prior understanding of Love for ALL. To this end Jesus gives examples of enemies, those “that curse you“, “that hate you” and those “which despitefully use you, and persecute you“. We noted in the last post that while this may seem to be an inclusive list, it IS but an example that says regardless of who it IS or what a man may have done or even IS doing, he IS to be Loved. According to Luke the Master’s words are just as clear and contain a reality that is not found in Matthew and perhaps we can see here the Master’s acknowledging the difficulty of accomplishing this Love while living in and focused upon the self and the things of the self in the world; we read: “But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you” (Luke 6:27-28). We, as aspirants, must be among those that hear and we must be as well among those that do this and teach this to ALL that we can reach and, among the largest of teaching tools that we have IS our own example in Life.
So the Master gives us this change in the attitude on Love as expressed by the Jews and taught by the Jews in those days and this is seized upon by the Apostle John who speaks much about this Love in his gospel and in his epistles as does the Apostle Paul and in this we should see that there IS no shortage of Christian words to fuel the fire of Love in the world. But here again many DO NOT see the reality as John chooses the word brother in his writing rather than the Master’s idea of neighbor, a word that John never uses in any context. Here, so much of the church sees only the Christian brother and this is reflected in commentary and teaching as well and in this we should be able to see the perpetuation of the Jewish ideas of Love only for those who one cares to Love and see as the neighbor in these ideas of the Christian brother which have overtaken the idea of the Great Commandment in doctrine. There IS no True foundation for these idea of Love except in the doctrines created for the convenience of men who CAN NOT or will NOT Love ALL; especially as he may Love himself. Much of the world problem with Love is found in the inadequacy of the teachings of the Truth of just what this Love means and proper emphasis upon the necessity of it in one’s journey on the Path to the Kingdom of God.
But the Master does not leave this void; men created this void in understanding the reality of Love and its singular effect of putting a man onto the True Path to God; they have substituted the misunderstood and misinterpreted words of Paul on grace and faith. John offers us this simple Truth saying that “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:5) and in these words we should understand that ALL that we see IS in the world and this includes the people, the places and the things that we Love. The Truth of Love IS the Way par excellence for the man in the world to begin to realize his own spiritual reality; there IS NO substitute and there ARE NO shortcuts nor affirmations that can move a man closer to God; there IS ONLY this Love that the Master teaches. And from a practical perspective the Truth is resoundingly clear in much of His words; it is the effects only that are obnubilated by His parables; there IS NO thing clearer than the words Love thy neighbor as thyself nor is that anything clearer than John’s way of presenting this as the Master’s saying that we Love one another. But men have wrangled about who IS the neighbor and they have relegated these sayings from John’s Gospel so as to mean fellow disciples and fellow Christians and it IS in these short sighted and restrictive views that the True glory of God has passed on by ALL who DO NOT see the Truth. Repeating His words again:
“Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:42-48).
Here we should see the reality of giving in Love and then who it IS that should be Loved as by example the Master lists those who one IS least likely to Love and this IS the challenge for men, that they put aside ALL animosity and ALL prejudices and plainly Love ALL and the reason is ever so clear; it IS in the realization that “ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven“. This IS the full benefit of Love; one does not become rich nor famous, one only comes to realize the Truth of his own relationship with God. And the example of God’s Love follows as we read how that ALL are treated equally in this world; the enemy and the friend, the haters and the Lovers, the evil and the good and the just and the unjust. As men in the world ALL ARE the same and are given the same from the Lord and any who think that what ever else that they may have is because they are blessed above others IS plainly wrong as “there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11).
The hidden parts of these ideas are those that show a man the Truth of the Kingdom, the inner workings if you will, as it IS for each man to discern these Truths for himself. And all have access to the same tools which ARE Love and the Truth of His words; not the convenient Truths that men see for their own benefit in the world but the the spiritual Truth that flows into a man’s consciousness from his own Soul. The parabolic hints ARE there in His words however and they are in the words of His apostles as well and it IS as a man can come to understand and realize the Truth of this Love that he can come to see the Truth and to begin to understand the rest. And the Master goes on to affirm His own words on Loving even those whom a man is least likely to willingly Love saying that “if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye?“; in this rhetorical question is the reality that the True reward is in Love for ALL.
The next idea, “if ye salute your brethren only“, is a bit obscure in relation to the ideas previously presented and Luke frames this differently as he tell us that the Master says: “if ye do good to them which do good to you” and in this combination we should try to see the reality of the Master’s intent; in the deeper meanings of salute we find the expression of GoodWill and the expression of honor and respect which we can easily see as doing good and for which we find similar meanings to our own definition of Love where we read that Love IS benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, and universal good will to men. Can we see the ideas presented here? Can we see the reality of His questions that say that if a man should do the easy parts and Love and salute ONLY those that return the favor, that he has not left the world and that he IS still encumbered by the illusion and the glamour that keep him bound. In slightly different terms we find Luke’s version of doing good as recompense or in anticipation of like response rather than doing good for the sake of so doing and here we should see that strong link to the idea of salute. And Luke continues with the Master’s words on lending where we should either see an additional meaning of this word in some kind of giving or else we should see the Master’s Truth that lending should be seen in the same way as giving from the perspective of not expecting a return.
And these are not isolated sayings, these are themes. In the idea of Love we find the Great Commandments and the Golden Rule; and on doing good or saluting one’s brethren or those that can recompense rather than ALL men, we find another parabolic story as the Master speaks to the one who had invited Him to supper; we read:
“Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again , and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God” (Luke 14:12-15).
The gospels are filled with these ideas of giving and Loving and treating those of lower station the same as ALL others and ALL of this in its totality IS the Master’s teaching on Love and it IS this teaching that IS amplified and clarified by His apostles in their comments and epistles. In doing these things, Loving and giving and have the same respect to ALL people, a man will at the same time come to understand the greater reality of His words and come to realize the greater Truths of Life. He will come to KNOW that the objective IS service to the Plan of God and not the satisfaction of the self in the world. It IS in doing that we receive and that we come to understand that in Love IS the essence of keeping His words and in so doing we can realize that perfection that we are admonished to find in that last part of this most profound group of sayings from the Master: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect“.
We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.
| Aspect |
Potency |
Aspect of Man |
In Relation to the Great Invocation |
In relation to the Christ |
|
GOD, The Father |
Will or Power |
Spirit or Life |
Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN |
Life |
|
Son, The Christ |
Love and Wisdom |
Soul or Christ Within |
Heart of God |
Truth |
|
Holy Spirit |
Light or Activity |
Life Within |
Mind of God |
Way |
Note on the Quote of the Day
This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.
We repeat here a Quote of the Day that we spent much time with over the course of our essays. In this affirmation we find the Truth of discipleship as we have been ever been expressing and here we can relate our themes of the last few days; “take no thought” for the things of the world and that we approach the Kingdom and discipleship in the nature of the little child, in humbleness, meekness, unashamed in any way and unassuming. The message that this imparts for us today IS that it IS the Soul that is at work in the world of men as it expresses to some degree the purpose, power and the will through Life in this world. These words are from a meditation offered to his students by our Tibetan brother and in which we find greater understanding of the message of the Master. This IS Truly the way of the disciple.
My Soul has purpose, power and will; these three are needed on the Way of Liberation.
My Soul must foster love among the sons of men; this is its major purpose.
I, therefore, will to love and tread the Way of Love. All that hinders and obstructs the showing of the Light must disappear before the purposes of the Soul.
My will is one with the great Will of God;. that Holy Will requires that all men serve. And unto the purposes of the Plan I lend my little will.
