The Contemplative Companion for Thursday, June 8, 2017

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
“Which is the first of all the commandments?” – Matthew 12.28

Left unsaid in the scribe’s poignant question, but very much informing it, is the phrase: Jesus, among the 613 traditional laws of the Torah, “which is the first of all the commandants.”

Adding that specific Rabbinic context to the question, helps us see the confusion that often exists in spirituality and spiritual communities. So many teachers and traditions say so much, so differently that it can lead one to feel confused, even overwhelmed.

The remedy, according to Jesus, is love. All of life’s rules and regulations, spiritual or otherwise, can be transformed into love, in three mutual aspects: God, self and other.

Where there is confusion, there is often division. Truth and wisdom relieve our confusion. And love eases our division. Love is the harmonizing power that transforms multiplicity into union.

Notice where you might feel or be confused. Perhaps it has been a long-standing confusion, left unattended out of frustration or a sense of resignation that it’s just something to live with.

Now is the time to ask the question. Get it off your chest, so to speak. You might be surprised by the answer that emerges to your heart, mind and intuition as you ask in the silence of surrender, and wait for the impression of revelation and guidance, in the lineage of this courageous scribe who admitted he was confused and asked for help.

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