"Just Do It!"

Some two thousand years ago an inspired Galilean prophet shook the foundations of Hebrew theocracy by declaring that all beings are children of a universal “Father within” who wants nothing more from us than to learn how to celebrate the grace of existence by “loving one another” in a radically unconditionally way.

Fifteen hundred years later, and still today, Jesus’ invitation to cultivate the spiritual art of unconditional love was still struggling for a foothold.

Nowhere was this more evident than in the violent sectarian conflict going on in the mid-East between the Muslims and Hindus during the late 1500's. The struggle was so intense that it inspired an awakened spiritual master, Guru Nanak, to found a new religion, Sikhism, in an attempt to build a bridge of understanding between the two warring faiths.

Once, while visiting Mecca during those times of intense hostility, Guru Nanak was asked by a devotee, “What religious belief is superior, Hindu or Muslim?”

The Guru replied, “If they don’t inspire righteous behavior, neither one is of any consequence. All religions contain great revelation, but without application revelation is meaningless. Truth is high, but higher still is truthful living.”

And there you have it. The key to all truly relevant and authentic transformation is the willingness to bring a fierce commitment to the discipline of faithfully applying the spiritual principles that “set us free.”

And, just to be sure that we are clear on what it means to “apply” something, consider this from the Random House Dictionary... There we find that the first, thus commonest, definition of “apply” is “to make practical or active use of.”

Therein lies a key to understanding what inspires some folks to define Unity as a “practical” form of Christianity. Unity is a life philosophy that will dynamically reward anyone who makes “active use of “ its clear and practical strategies for enjoying the fruit of living the spiritually informed life.

Jesus was crystal clear on this point. He was totally committed to inspiring all His followers to move beyond simply “considering” His teachings and “do them in remembrance of Him.” Key thought . . . “do them.” Remember his inspiring revelation that, “these things I do, and even greater things, you shall do!” It’s all about the power of spiritual action, the power of doing, the power of releasing the energy inherent in the principles of Truth when they are “acted on” in ways that liberate their great potential to become the mighty spiritual force that transforms our lives from bondage to freedom, from the mundane to the mystical.

Dr. William Willimon, Dean of the Chapel at Duke University, nailed this notion when he suggested that he couldn’t recall anytime that Jesus asked his disciples to “believe the following five things about me.” Hardly. What Jesus invited them to do was to taste the grace of responding to his invitation to “follow me.” “Follow me”... a doing, His overture to taste the power of making “active use of” the genius contained in His mystical revelations of a liberating Truth, a Way to a life so unclouded by longing it “passes understanding.”

Nowhere in our study of the Jesus ethic do we encounter Him encouraging us to refine, for example, our understanding of the principles of love. No. He simply calls us out to be love. He doesn’t suggest that to be a disciple we must think about Him, or believe this or that about Him. If you pay close attention you’ll hear Him inviting us to abide in Him, to do the things He did, to follow Him, to do our best to emulate His life through the choices we make about how we choose to live our lives.

Remember it is far more crucial that we put our energy into being a disciple, a follower of Jesus, than it is to work at perfecting our identity as a Christian. If you ever catch me focusing on how to make you a “good Unitic,” hit me in the back of the head with a 3 iron, please.

The dance is not about learning how to be a perfect enunciator of a religious ideology. Christianity, righteously understood, transcends knowledge, beliefs, and theological propositions to reach out and embrace the rarified space of authentic discipleship, a willingness to follow His teachings with impeccable integrity deep into the mystical heart of their origins. Trust me on this. You don’t really understand addiction until you’ve touched that place. It’s soooo sweet!

Remember, transcending ego doesn’t mean getting rid of it. It’s simply about plugging it into something bigger, smarter and more spiritually informed. You’ll know you’re getting close when a deep and inner peace begins to haunt you and you find yourself incapable of manufacturing turmoil with quite the same conviction you once could. I honor your growing capacity to come off your positions and enjoy a good laugh over how we defended the utter crap we used to cling to so desperately.

Finally, ultimately, the effectiveness of our transformational practices will be determined by the level of intimacy we have cultivated with the Source of all life enhancing energies... Love – Peace – Joy – Compassion – Forgiveness - Wisdom. . .

How truly connected are we to the Heart-Mind of God – the Christ within? Has our quest for truth cultivated our heads or our souls? The difference can be dramatic. Enjoy the quest; it’s the only game in town!

Enjoy the Grace!
--Chad

© 2004 Rev. Chad O'Shea

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