Neighbors

What actually constitutes a neighbor can get complicated. In this context a neighbor is one who is committed to action driven by compassion; a person deeply committed and concerned with the suffering of others. A far cry from the restrictive, location-based definition of a neighbor we've come to accept. I've always been fascinated by the Bible's potential to expand our minds through it's deeper meanings and ambiguities, and this particular "commandment" does not disappoint. As it expands the concept of what it is to be a "neighbor" it also establishes a "neighborhood" far beyond an area code.

The Bible is not restrictive in nature (only in interpretation), the writings are and have always been all about expansion and multiplication. Those who are not expanding their minds in the process of study are just filtering the writings to fit their own point of view. Jesus only spoke in universal "kingdom" terms. He and his contemporaries were never in the business of playing small and neither should we. They were serious about growth and expansion. They were revolutionary, regularly challenging social "norms" because they wanted to impact the world beyond what had previously been done, they were our best examples and the opportunity for us to follow in their footsteps has arrived. The coronavirus and the way our government has responded to it, has opened the whole world up to working together. Recently, many have expanded their ideas about "borders" and what it is to be neighbors and countrymen. As a result, many new collaborations are happening in places we never thought possible. And since we know that once the mind has been expanded by a new idea, it can never regain its original dimensions, we should strongly consider the idea that our world will never go back to how things were.

A neighbor shall no longer be defined by material attributes but by our innermost connection to the Creator. We are all human beings. We all matter. We are all of One.

Love is

I believe that some things should remain undefinable by words, and that if you can describe love with words, then you've missed it. Like trying to describe a rose or GOD, things just beyond human intellectual capacity, it would be impossible to capture their true essence using mere words to describe them, and while attempting to do so would be entertaining to some, these attempts would come across as grossly insufficient to those who have seen and touched the rose of emotion all for themselves...

Love should remain meaningless and undefinable; ensuring that it is never confused with control. No limits in love. Love is alive in all things and all forms, and always to the same degree as we are aware of it within ourselves. The great Principle of Correspondence is in full effect in matters of love especially. We are all of One.

Love for others

We can only love others as much as we love ourselves, it is simply not possible to give what we have not first cultivated within us, and when we need assistance cultivating love within, our teachers appear, often in the form of our closest relationships. Our neighbors are the ones who mirror exactly what we feel about ourselves at the right time, the ones we choose to reveal all that is hidden deep within us and desperately needing light, regardless of our perception of their intent. These revelations don't always come to light without pain. Most times (despite what we may think) they really "know not what they do", it's above them, and just as love is undefinable, so are some of the ways in which God uses our neighbors to get our attention. The relationship is an avenue to communicate. Communication between two people is a function of love. Where love is present, there can be no division. We are all of One.

So forgive quickly. As quickly as you seek to be forgiven yourself. Learn Quickly. Lessons are infinite. Consider that any offense involving another was always above them, always about you, and the One who sent them. Trust that nothing and no one is allowed to operate outside of Universal Law. It's all Love. Love is a Universal Law.

Published by ednapper in Spirituality, Sunday Sermon