But today I want to exemplify the example of Christ. Even for those who believe Jesus was a just a character in a fairy-tale I would advise them to remember the ending of Harry Potter itself wouldn't have happened the way it did had the example not been made first by Christ.
Let me tell you of the remarkable wonder of Christ's allegiance to divinity over "propriety" and divide.
At the time a leper was someone who suffered from a contagious skin disease that who everyone then avoided to not catch the same affliction. If you stood beside a leper it was assumed you had caught the disease and were then deemed to be a leper yourself.
So when Jesus told His friends that He was going to heal a leper, they warned Him out of fear that He would then be ostracized and possibly catch the disease.
But Jesus made it clear: I am going to touch the hands of this person and instead of catching a disease from their hands they will receive healing from Mine. He directly pitted Himself against the world and its pains and its finite limitations.
Then came Peter. Peter hated followers of Christ and burned men and women alive. He committed atrocities against many and went to kill Jesus himself. Jesus then took him in and he came to love Christ so much that when he saw Him wandering on the water he jumped from the boat he was in and ran to Him over the waves. Peter constantly stated in his writings that he was the least worthy of God's love and graces and had received surmounting blessings in spite of turning his back on Jesus Himself. He was always led to being embraced back in.
Then came the Samarian woman. Samarians were deemed to be loathsome and evil and talking to a woman was borderline forbidden because it was considered degrading and women were considered the property of men -not people. So they were deeply confused when Jesus struck up a conversation with this woman and acted like she was of equal relevance to others. Then he shared the story of the Good Samarian that His followers might come to understand WHY.
Luke 10:27-35
"27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’"
Lately the story of "The Least of These" has been coming up as well. Mostly because politicians that only seem concerned with gaining power and profiting off of corruption ignore the fact they also identify as being Christian and act against the interest of the people they claim to serve. But let's throw that example in there as well.
All around us our examples -if not from Jesus Himself- to seek unity and to be there for one another compassionately.
I think that message is being lived out these days in the word known as Solidarity. We've shifted in the right direction. But this world constantly distracts us and gives us every excuse to abandon that path, so it's up to us to do as Christ did and choose to stay in alignment with the divine rather than let the ego divide and destroy as it always does.
No man is an island. We are not intended to live for only ourselves. I hope people learn to extended peace to those around them and find peace within themselves.
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