The Nazarene Gospel

11 June 2004
By Jim Weller

The Nazarene gospel Jesus preached, his great “good news,” is that the kingdom of God is here now, “on earth as it is in heaven.” The realization of it is here (head), here (heart), and here (everywhere, everyone.) This is it! This is the truth that shall set you free!

If you would see the face of God, look in the faces of women, men, and children. If you would see the hands with which God works in the world, the feet with which God walks in the world, look at your own hands and feet. If you would hear the voice of God, listen to your own silent voice in prayerful reflection.

As Jesus taught, all the Torah and the Prophets are summed up in this single greatest commandment, “you shall love the LORD your God with all your soul, and all your heart, and all your mind,” because God is here (head, heart, everywhere, everyone.) Jesus taught another commandment like it, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself,” because every person – the inner conscience and consciousness in every person – reflects the image of God.

This is what I mean when I say you are not alone. This is the good news. The Presence of God is reflected, brightly or dimly, in six billion human souls’ mirrors, everywhere in the world. There are God’s images. Those are your neighbors. Love them, and yourself, for their brightness and their dimness as well.

Actually, I suppose there is good news and bad news here. The good news is that the kingdom of heaven is present within us, waiting for us only to realize it and live it out. The bad news, of course, is that heaven is not an idyllic paradise somewhere, waiting for us to leave this life behind. If your faith and hope are fixed on that kind of fantasy, you won’t easily accept the ever-present kingdom of God - God's Presence - into which you were accepted before you were born, and to which you may return whenever you are able to realize the truth, and accept your acceptance.

Have you been told you must accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? That may be the language you learned to use, or it may not be. I’m sure Jesus would not have said that. However it may be, the language of salvation is not the key. It is the authentic spirit that matters. Jesus’ good news is that you do not need to go anywhere, or to do anything, or to be anything but yourself, or even to believe anything special in order to be saved. You’re already there, just as you are, and you always have been.

When you come simply to apprehend the unity and universality of God, the reality of God’s Presence in your mind, and heart, and spirit, at the same time immanent and transcendent, you will be redeemed. You will realize that God and God’s Creation are one and the same as your larger self.

May it be so.

Amen.