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From
the Holy Bible ... John 13:34 -
"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I
have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35
By this shall all men know that ye  are
my disciples, if ye have love one to another." ... Luke 6:30
- "Give to every man that asketh of
thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again."
31 "And as ye would that men
should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." 32
"For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for
sinners also love those that love them." 33
"And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have
ye? for sinners also do even the same." 34
"And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have
ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again." 35
"But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for
nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the
children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the
evil."
The statements above
are some of the most powerful by the Radical Rabbi Jesus ... love
without conditions ... love without expectations ... love without
obligation ... all of these seem almost impossible for most of us.
But, this is the unconditional love that is necessary for us to align
ourselves with the Highest. This is truly a teaching that moves us
into a higher consciousness than most of us have ever experienced.
It is a teaching that tells us that we are to "look to God for
everything" ... even when we make a loan ... we are to look to God
for our return, not to the person we made the loan to. And it is
not necessary for us to concern ourselves that people are taking
advantage of us ... for God gives "in kind" to everyone ...
even the unthankful and evil, Jesus explains. The Law is always
working ... and as we sow we shall reap. As we sow our trust, our
faith and our hope in God ... we will never lose that which is ours.
This teaching from the Radical
Jesus did not bode well with the people of His time. He said to
the holy men, "you know every letter of the
Law but you have no love in your hearts." In other
words, the priests were teaching the Law of reward and punishment ...
but Jesus taught that we are not to judge ... and in Truth it is foolish
to do so ... for the Law of sowing and reaping is always at work and if
we understand the Law, then why should we add injury to injury ... no
one gets away with anything ... and if someone takes what is not theirs
... they will lose it or it will become useless to them. So, as we
realize that the Law is always working, it makes little sense to fill
our mind with someone else's negative consequence ... and judgment
brings the negative into our consciousness which creates the possibility
of the very same experience coming into our lives. Our minds must
be clear for it is the beliefs and concepts that we hold as the Truth
that fill our consciousness. If we have a consciousness filled
with the negative judgments and are harboring thoughts of resentment and
revenge ... then we will have experiences that give us more reason to
feel resentful and revengeful.
I find it truly interesting that in
contemporary America we have Christians who are so upset and angry that
a display of the "Ten Commandments" which is the Law given to
the Hebrews, was declared illegal to be displayed in government
buildings. Why would Christians feel so strongly about the
"Ten Commandments" when the Radical Jesus dismissed them and
taught that the 10 could be summed up in 2: "Love God and
love your neighbor as yourself." Now, Jesus was not only one
of the most highly enlightened souls that has ever walked on this
planet, but He was also one of the most highly intelligent ... and He
was right. If you love your neighbor you are not going to steal,
covet or lie to them or commit adultery with their husband or wife.
And the Ten Commandments also tell us that we must keep the Sabbath ...
the Sabbath referred to in the Ten Commandments, Hebrew law, was the
seventh day or Saturday. Christians observe the Sabbath on Sunday
... so why are they so upset about the Ten Commandments? They have
nothing to do with Christianity ... Jesus gave us the new dispensation
... the two commandments that make the original Hebrew ten unnecessary.
Jesus was so
brilliant ... with such a clever mind ... He could use simple language
to explain even the most profound spiritual truths ... "love God
and love your neighbor as your self" ... what could be more simple
... or effective in keeping us connected to the Most High ... Love is
the Law and the Law is Love ... thank you Jesus. As we celebrate
Christmas this year ... let us really understand why we are celebrating.
The Radical Jesus can only be our savior if we follow His teachings ...
"do as I do" ... so let us celebrate Christmas and the
Holidays with great joy ... in a Jesus kind-of-way .... with our hearts
bursting with Love for God and for each other!
And
So It Is!
Maximum Love,
Rev.
Hank Bates
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