Next week is Holy Week , and so today's theme is darkness into light . As we prepare for what is arguably the hardest week in the Christian calendar , we take our grief with us , we take the contemplation of what lost lives have meant to us and we descend one last time into the desert to be with Jesus as he suffers his future .
By the end of the 40 days , he almost certainly knows his fate , has accepted it , has questioned it , has meditated upon it , prayed upon it , spoke with his father about the sacrifice he must make and come to terms with it . Because of the overwhelming love in his heart for the men and women he has lived with all his life .
He sees the widow and understands clearly her broken heartedness . He sees the orphan and knows how boundless love can never replace his loss . He sees the soldiers who have fallen for causes good and true and for causes trivial . He sees the families that have been torn by losses from famine and disease , through misfortune , neglect and violence .
He has looked , surely , into the dark hearts of men and understands what that heart is capable of . But he has also looked into the hearts of grieving women and knows the power of healing love sourced there . He has seen the rain and the rainbows , the clouds , the storms and the birds that come after .
He knows truly what a peaceful heart can mean , what a peaceful heart can bring to those around it . He knows the unbounding power and healing of perfect love , for that is the only kind he is capable of . He has let us here to sit with him in these last days of contemplation so that he might share one last prayer with us as we contemplate his holy week .
He turns to us sitting in a circle and says I loved you before you were born . I knew you before you were born . I wrote my name upon your hearts . It's still there . My Father , my God , loves you most . I was sent here simply to illustrate that love to you , so that none of you will ever have to make the sacrifice I am prepared to do .
You are only required of one thing in this life , that is love . It is the basis of your families , your communities , your religious keepings , your songs , your prayers , your society , your cities , your towns and even your empires . What these days in the wilderness have shown me is that towers not built on love will certainly fall .
Families not built on love will certainly crumble . Communities not built on love will separate and abandon one another in the wilderness and scatter to the four winds . So my lesson is this --Let every act and word and deed you commit be based on love . That has been my guiding principle , the basis of all .
I have taught to you the raison de tra , if you will , for there is none but love and in the end , there is nothing but returning to me , where I will wait for you with open arms of love . With open arms of love , peace be upon you all . Please contact us If you have questions or seek spiritual direction . Our contact information is in the show notes .
Be gentle with yourselves . Travel with God .