Today’s Word from Pastor Katrina…
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:36-40
Deacon Amy and I have been diving into a Comparative Religions class with many of you these last few weeks, and there is so much to learn! One person in our class recently said that we really are just scratching the surface- there is so much depth and context that’s difficult to fit into one class- and he is right! The goal for our class is to engage in an introductory exploration to major world religions so that when we encounter people of different faiths, we know more about them and love our neighbors better.
This week’s class was on Buddhism, and the book asked- is Buddhism a religion or a philosophy? As I read more of the chapter, and dove into books from the library, I began to also wonder if Buddhism is also a practice or a spiritual discipline. This also made me curious about what spiritual disciplines we employ in our Christian faith.
Part of the joy in our class is learning about our own faith more deeply and also seeing the ways in which different religions overlap and have much in common. For example, the Buddhist teacher quoted in our book summarized the Buddhist Holy Eightfold Path as: doing as much good as you can; refrain from doing evil; purify your mind.
This has much in common with Methodist goals of: refraining from doing evil; do all the good you can; pursue the spiritual disciplines that help you stay and grow with God. Both the ELCA and Methodist mission statements share words about “serving joyfully” and “loving and witnessing boldly.” The Episcopal church emphasizes unity with God and with each other in Christ.
The world is full of communities who share common goals to live out The Greatest Commandment to love God and love our neighbor. And within each community, every person has their own story and method for what “works” for them. Some pray daily; meditate; go to AA meetings; exercise; journal; make art or music; quilt; share meals with one another. We share an important meal together on Sundays, as our spirits are nourished with the Word, Sacraments, and fellowship.
I’d love to encourage both myself and all of you to consider what practices/ habits/ values you live into each day- or maybe you haven’t started yet but are curious about- that nurtures your loving connections with God and with each other.
With love and gratitude,
Pastor Katrina
pastorkat@trinityfreeland.org
