Thoughts from meditation

It’s easy for me to get lost in anxiety and worry. I worry about our country and the divisions that only intensify, the Christian faith, the church, and the lurching gap between rich and poor. It’s easy to fall prey to the despair of so many things.

This morning during meditation so many thoughts were flowing through my head about the state of the country and all the fear and hatred out there. My head starts spinning with despair and panic. But this morning the thought came to me, “go back to the gospel.” Go back to the word and to the things Jesus said and did. Here’s just a couple that I suspect we can all use to get through times such as these. They are not grand theological statements about eternal salvation but salvation in this life–salvation from hate and hopelessness.

“Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31, NRSV Updated Edition).

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the greatest and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40, NRSV Updated Edition).