Whatsoever you do . . .

. . . you do unto Christ

Long ago, Jesus posed a challenge, here paraphrased. He said that when he was hungry, thirsty, lonely and frightened, we cared for him. And we reply, wait - when exactly did I do that? And Jesus says, whatever you do for the least among you, you do it unto me as well.

What is missing in our lives? How shall we find it?

If A Course in Miracles teaches me anything, it teaches me to discern between ego and the Holy Spirit, and that all happiness depends on giving attention only to the latter.

The Holy Spirit is the Voice for God that I share with Jesus and, by extension, with you (T-6.I.11:2). The Holy Spirit is an interior presence Whose gentle and clear guidance teaches me how to be happy in a quiet and sustainable way and, in the resultant stillness, to be, Saint Francis style, an instrument of peace.

Nor is the Holy Spirit concerned with the fact that I am an imperfect instrument! He naturally corrects my errors, always using them as learning opportunities for me and for others. He reminds me that a posture of humility is fundamentally creative, and that defenselessness is the only way to be truly safe (W-pI.153.h).

The Holy Spirit speaks a language I understand and utilizes familiar contexts (T-17.VI.1:5). He is not interested in playing hide-and-seek. He is not here to confuse me. He works with the life that I call "mine" in order to show me that life is not personal but shared. My role in salvation - because it is all our role - is simply not to hide my lamp beneath a bushel but to share and extend it in an ever-brightening circle of light. Keep it simple; keep it local.

The Holy Spirit reminds me that my will and God's Will are not separate (T-8.II.6:4), and that the most I can do in any situation is ask to be reminded of this. Of every brother and sister - the ones I cherish, the ones I can't cherish, and the ones I refuse to cherish - He whispers over and over, "this too is Christ."

When I despair in any situation he reminds me, "Love holds everything, even this."

I experience the ego similarly - a voice advocating for a way of living. But its way is premised on fear - that I will go hungry, become lonely, be attacked and abandoned and deserve whatever suffering I experience. Ego advocates for competition and conflict, based on its perception of scarcity (not enough food, water, medicine, love, etc). The result is internal turmoil and external war.

I don't feel compassion for the ego, but I do feel compassion for myself and for all my brothers and sisters who are yet taken in by its misunderstanding and aggressive defense of that misunderstanding. However, our confusion is not a moral or any other kind of crisis. I don't have to panic. I just have to remember there is another way.

It's like if I want to go to Boston and am studying a map that shows the way to New York City. I cannot help but be lost! But the solution is not to yell at the New York City map or argue with it or hope it magically turns into a Boston map.

The solution is to just discard the unhelpful map and pick up the helpful one.

Therefore, the question is very simple: what works? What helps? What allows me to be more patient? Less judgmental? Slower to anger? More likely to assume the best in all my brothers and sisters? What seems to generalize, allowing us all to be kinder and more merciful?

The parable of Jesus with which we started isn't a compliment; it's a call to action.

All our fatigue and confusion on this point arises from our continuous effort to not do the one thing the Holy Spirit asks, which is simply to listen to it rather than to ego.

The strength to do comes from your undivided decision. There is no strain in doing God’s Will as soon as you recognize it is also your own (T-2.VI.6:3-4).

At every moment of every day, the Christ appears before us and asks to be remembered. We "re-member" Christ by seeing in the other our own self - our own loneliness, our own spiritual hunger, our own pain and suffering. There is one cry and there is one response and we are host to both.

Truly then does the Course say that miracles are maximal forms of service unto each other because through them, we recognize our own worth and the other’s worth simultanesouly (T-1.I.18:2, 4). "All expressions of love are maximal" (T-1.I.1:4). Whatsoever we do, we do unto Christ.

Thank you, always, for reminding me.

Love,
Sean