Day 38a: Dancing with the Dogma β¦ (05/22/2019)
The two major conversations I had with Nestor — the first while hanging out before bed during the evening of my arrival and the second while breakfasting together the following morning before my departure — were halting at best, and yet despite the formidable language barrier between us we were able to converse at some length about the power of radical Kindness and the necessity of selfless service and the form & purpose of my Walk. And yet one topic where I never was able to make myself at all understood was my relationship to Jesus and the Bible and Christianity in general …
*I told him that I had been avidly following & devoutly adhering to the teachings of Jesus Christ (as found in the Gospels, most specifically those teachings found in Matthew 5-7’s relaying of “The Sermon on the Mount”) since 2005, and yet Nestor came away believing that I had been a devout worshiper of Jesus for that many years instead β¦ π
*I told him that I read my Bible almost every day and that researching & studying & parsing out its many moral riddles & theological contradictions was one of my primary passions, and yet Nestor came away believing that I was a evangelical-level literalist instead β¦ π
*I told him that I was an avid believer in and radical follower of the selfless LOVE embodied by the Way, the Truth, and the Life exemplified by Jesus Christ, and yet Nestor came away believing that I was a profoundly devout & highly religious Christian instead β¦ π
Oh well, I shared what I could share, as well as I could share it. And that is, after all, what we have all been called to do. Indeed, none of us can hope to be truly heard by most — and yet we have been called to gently display and relay our highest Truths with others nonetheless. And for me, much more than my relatively weak-winded words, my bold actions have been booming The Way of Christ — a Way that transcends the man-made moral shackles of religious dogma; a Way that embodies the primary Truth that real Joy & lasting Peace only come to those who are openly willing to sacrifice their own “best interests” for the betterment of others β¦ π
βIf you continue embodying my Word of Love, you will come to experience its Truth, and that Truth alone is the one that will set you free.β ~ via Jesus Christ (John 8:31-32)