Jesus was an agent for change, a radical far beyond today’s idea of left and right. His words and actions were revolutionary: Love one another; care for all my children. Ask and receive, for there is more than enough to go around. Illness and death are illusions capable of changing in a moment. His words and actions were powerful, as revolutionary in their time as they are today.

Those in control feared his words and actions would undermine and destroy the very foundation of commerce and power. They were right. His words, lived by enough bold beings, would have breathed life into his message and opened more and more ears to listen. It would have shaped hearts capable of genuine compassion, and lips whose only purpose was to put love into action. Had his precious words truly seeded our path, we would live in a much different world today.

The life of Jesus had many purposes. He came to bring peace, to salve the wounds of those in pain, to wipe away the tears. He spoke out to show us the fallacy of earthly power, the way it corrupts and keeps us from acting in ways aligned with love. He came to bring light to the darkness of our world, to show us another way full of possibility and potential, the way of Love. He taught so those with ears to listen, those who listen with an ear beyond their own personal desires, would see that God’s love is the only reality, that all else is manmade distraction from that reality. He walked the path of love to help us one-pointedly focus on that love. He asked us to wake us up to the glory and beauty that is each one of us, proving by his actions that none of us is a throwaway, not the leper, the beggar, or the tax collector. He taught so we could experience fervently lived, now and in each moment, divine love. He came to change our world, to unseat love of power where ever it exists, in order to bring love into power.

Societally, much is the same since his death. Power and wealth remain in the hands of the few, not different from the wealthy, priestly and aristocratic families during the time of Jesus. With simple twists on the true understanding, his teachings diminished, becoming smaller, less revolutionary and stifled of their true power. This simple shift bound the hearts of the world’s people for generations to come. The twists in understanding made Jesus unreachable, the only son of God, someone to deify and worship, not emulate. The twists conditioned unconditional love.

That was not the intent of Jesus. Jesus wanted us to be like him, not to believe in him. He wanted us to risk changing the world, to stand for the poor, the downtrodden, until they could stand for themselves and others. He asked us to do so while turning the other cheek, not harming any other, even if harmed. He wanted us to live his teachings, not immortalize him. He wanted us to see the absolute imperative of love, a love so big that we are willing to die for another as he did, if required. It was a big request. In exchange, it offered, and still offers, a big love.

A few understood. Gandhi, King, Mandela understood. The teachings of Jesus, of non-violence and love of our fellow man, were foundational for their walks of freedom and understanding. Each day this universal message of love beats within our hearts. It resides within our frustration, our heart ache, our anger and indignation at the state of our world. It is the message of Jesus, and all the other amazing prophets that God has blessed us to experience. It is the message alive within us, still asking us, how will we live? Who will we be? Will we at last step beyond the twists of understanding, and be the message of love? It is the only salvation for our weary hearts.

The message is much bigger than I can put to paper. For as we live the message, the message itself unfolds into dimensions of increasingly powerful opening and understanding. Live the message. Answer the call of your heart and with infinite mind-bending ah-ha’s you will discover this for yourself. Amaya