Be
Love
“The
'Seven Social Sins': Knowledge without character, Science without
humanity, Wealth without work, Commerce without morality, Politics
without principles, Pleasure without conscience, Worship without
self-sacrifice.”
Mahatma
Gandhi (1869-1948)
Yesterday, a reader sent
me the quote above by Gandhi, and then later in the day, I received
this quote by Martin Luther King, Jr., “We must discover the
power of love, the power, the redemptive power of love. And when we
discover that, we will be able to make this old world a new world. We
will be able to make men [and women] better. Love is the only way.”
These two men are the ones in my lifetime who have been willing
to give their lives for the cause of justice and equality. Each of
them met the challenge of being without social sin because of their
dedication to God's call on their lives. It's good to point out as
well that they were men of color, and that Gandhi was Hindu, not
Christian, just as Jesus, a middle-eastern man, was a Jew, and not a
Christian.
Many people have lived
lives of self-sacrifice—Mother Teresa comes to mind—but most of
us are like the rich young man who asked Jesus how he might have
eternal life. Along with telling him to follow the ten commandments,
Jesus instructed him to, “sell all that you have and give to the
poor...then come and follow me.” (Mathew 19:21) We, like the
rich young man, would go away sad. We love our comforts, don't we? I
guess I'm selfish enough to want my cake and eat it too. I do think,
however, that there's a middle ground. One must figure out for
oneself what it means to love greatly—not just our families, not
just the ones who love us back—but to BE love. To come from a heart
of love and not fear in everything we do. Such a challenge.
Michael B. Curry,
Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in America, (and also a man
of color) said this: “Think and imagine a world when love is the
way. Because when love is the way we actually treat each other like
we are actually family. When love is the way, we know that God is the
source of us all. And we are brothers and sisters—that's a new
heaven, a new Earth, a new world, a new human family.” I
wonder—can we find our way home to love? Can we BE LOVE today?
In the Spirit,
Jane
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