Parakalein

I have two special women in my life who have attempted to teach me something that I am slowly learning.  "Focus, focus, focus" and "make friends with comas!"

It is so easy to get side tracked.  I do it all the time.  Good things, good points, good acts of compassion can side track us from the better.  As I think about Christmas I am so glad God did not get side tracked in his sending the gift of love into the world.

400 years earlier in the end of Malachi (4:6) the prophet's message we read, "He will turn the hearts of the Fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers."  God in giving his son was opening his heart to all his children and asking all his children to open their hearts to him.  Sadly many of us find no room in our hearts for open heartedness.  Understandably as we have had hearts that have been hurt, wounded and we have parts that want to protect ourselves from further hurt.  Hurt, pain, and a need to protect can cause us to get side tracked.  We can lose the focus of "love".

I was wondering if the church of Jesus has been side tracked.  It has focused on sharpening the message of the gospel, attempting to define God and how to know him or her, and acting to protect the sacred truth of the Gospel. They have developed dogmas and doctrines to protect the message of the gospel then to defend to the death (literally) their particular brand of Christianity.  Great things have been done in the name of Jesus but equally horribly things have been done as well. We have been side tracked into thinking it is about what we do or believe.  We can do Jesus to people and not be Jesus toward people.

Jesus was and is God's gift of love toward people.  Lowly and looked down upon Shepherds, and looked up to Wise Men, and everyone in between received the gift of love that night.  It is the love of that night and the silent peace of that night that is the focus of God and it is to be our focus.  To live in love, authentically and daily, and to be at peace, internally and eternally, toward all people. Regardless of how anyone treats us and regardless of what we believe differently from them, and without anything in us thinking that we are more special than anyone else, "we simply and profoundly love".

Could it be that while attempting to sharpen the focus of the Gospel we have actually dulled the message and it has lost its main, mysterious, miraculous and mystifying point.  God simply and profoundly, "loves" everyone, regardless of anything.

Love is our focus not wisdom, not doctrine, not dogma, not good deeds, and not being right.
Our focus is to be right in our hearts toward all people regardless of anything.  It is not being right about theology or ecclesiology but it is being right in our heart toward all.  An "open hearted love" turned toward God and all God's children.

It is not to do right things, or believe right truths.  It is to be, in truth right, in our hearts toward all.  To be at peace and to act in love, these are the gifts of Christmas.

"Glory to God in the highest and on earth: peace and goodwill,  intentional acts of kindness and love, toward all humanity"