The Golden Rule

Well, Jesus can't make it much simpler in the Gospel this week. He sums up basically all 10 Commandments in one simple statement: "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another."

If you're looking for the key to life, read that statement again. Then again, it might be easy to say, but surely it isn't the easiest thing to do. I'm not saying go and buy flowers and candy for someone who just beat you up or hurt you badly emotionally, I'm just saying that you may not like them, but they are one of God's children just like you and me. That's why you love them, because they are made out of God's image and likeness.

At the end of this Gospel, Jesus says, "That is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

It's like those television commercials where people doing good deeds spreads, and gets passed on and on and on. Someone opens a door for someone, then that person helps someone pick up papers, then that person lets them use their pen. The little things. If someone sees you showing compassion even in the toughest of atmospheres, they'll definitely learn from that. It's quite common to be wrongly accused of doing something to someone.

Say your best friend thinks you intentionally are trying to sabotage a relationship with someone else, and screams at you for that. It's easy to give in and fight back, but Jesus wants us to take a deep breath, and discuss things like human beings. By having that love of each other in the front of our minds, respect for other's viewpoints and opinions grows. Then, conflict can actually be resolved without World War 3 happening in your living room. By doing that, God can actually see that you truly believe in his teachings.

This whole taking a breath thing is widely underrated and underused. A few weeks ago, I was blogging about the month of April, which looked like it was going to be the end of me considering all the things I had to do. I actually read my blog more than once that day, and it calmed me down. The four weeks of April flew by, I'm still amazed that it's already May. It wasn't as painful as I thought it would be, because I took a step back and knew it was something I simply had to do, so there was no use stressing over it.

But sometimes, we need to take a step back from our own lives as well, and look at the even bigger picture. We cannot ignore national problems. Of course, we need to manage our own little lives and communities at first, but then we need to look at what is going on in the world around us.

Just a few days ago, gallons upon gallons of oil were accidentally spilled in the Gulf of Mexico. Some are saying it might be worse than the Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989. It's going to take months and months to clean it up, with the real damage being irreversible. Maybe we need to start thinking about how to help out, instead of being engrossed in our own little problems. Those problems probably aren't that big of a deal,but an oil spill is life-altering for people, communities, animals, and the environment as a whole. The least we can do is raise awareness that it actually happened, and get everyone else out of their shell and learn what is going on nationally.

Let us also be thankful for those who thwarted the potential car bomb in Times Square last week. Think about what would have happened if they had been too late...it's tough to picture, but we need to realize that the whole love thing I was talking about earlier isn't shared among all. In return, we as individuals and as a country can't lash out against the perpetrators, but in turn try to see their reasoning behind it and understand, and then make an effort at compromising beliefs. It might seem impossible, but it's been said before: Nothing is impossible with God.

So let's start loving one another, and hopefully those who don't have that love in their lives will watch Jesus' disciples turn the other cheek with pride and learn from that, and that maybe there is an alternative to fighting and violence. First let's do it in our own community, then expand it to the world.

By taking some small and then big steps, you might even surprise yourself.