“As much as you have done it unto the least of these My brethren, you have done it unto Me.”

“Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.”

I almost never watch TV and seldom read the news.  Both are toxic to the soul.  For me it’s like intentionally visiting a waste disposal plant.  In fact as I write that I recall an occasion when I took a large load of refuse from a house remodeling project to the dump. As I stood there tossing my trash my senses were assaulted by an overwhelming stench to the extend that it made me gag.  Nearby was the rotting bone and skins of animals.  Noxious.  Like the news on the television.

Occasionally I wade back into those polluted waters, usually as the result of something “big” that is happening.  Like when Corona first hit.  I found a place to watch the news and was appalled, though not surprised, at the sensationalism, accusations, assumptions and opinionated editorializing being practiced by those reporting or hosting the programs.  For me it simply fanned the flames of anxiety and worry that were already being experienced over the situation.  Needless to say I didn’t watch for long. 

So yesterday when I heard about the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg I again ventured into the realm of the media to read about this sad, albeit historic event.  What I discovered were headlines about the political fighting that is being prophesied if there is an attempt to replace her prior to the elections.  One headline read “We’ll Burn Congress Down.” 

Love your neighbor as yourself.  And who is my neighbor?  Everyone.  Especially those one considers to be their enemies. Jesus told a parable about this called “The Good Samaritan.”  It holds a great deal of pertinence for our present times.  If we love ourselves, how can we help but love others?  If the love of God truly dwells in us, how can we distinguish between those who hold different political perspectives, those who are homeless, those who are of different races or genders?  If we realize that we aren’t really individuals, but rather are truly connected to others and one with all of creation how can we make such destructive distinctions?  And if we see that God lives in each and every human being as Christ so clearly proclaimed, then how can we have such unkind thoughts and commit such hateful acts against the Divine?

The following is taken from “Christ the Eternal Tao” by Hieromonk Damascene.

“Love your neighbor as yourself” said the Way.

Through love of neighbor do we enter into love of the Way; For our neighbor is the image of the Way; And thus the Way accepts what we do for our neighbor as if it were done for Him.

When this realization is kept constantly in mind, It becomes the source of purest love for our neighbor.

“And who is my neighbor?” the Way was asked. 

Our neighbor is whoever the Way puts before us:

Insider or outcast,

Faithful or unfaithful,

Friend or foe,

Help or burden,

Encourager or reviler,

Rescuer or murderer.

Therefore said the Ancient Sage, “Even if people be bad, why should they be rejected?  The holy man takes care of all people, and in consequence there is no rejected person.”

Love for neighbor, then, is love for all equally, and equally with ourselves.  Perfect love is the summit of detachment; It knows no distinction between one’s own and another’s,

Between male and female,

Between black and white.

Such single, simple love has a single cause;

The Way Who is honored and loved in every neighbor.

Through love of neighbor do we enter into love of The Way:

And as the former grows in us, so does the latter,

Until at last the Way is all in all,

And we forget ourselves.

Then love becomes a depth of illumination,

A fountain of fire inflaming the thirsty soul.

Growth added to growth,

Love is the progress of eternity.

Perhaps consider turning off the TV and ingesting this instead?