Trust

Trust is a word that we rarely hear or speak of in our labyrinthine society. There is no room for trust, when most people around us are concerned more with outward appearance than inward sincerity.

In Matthew, Jesus promises us the following: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” This is a major leap of faith for us to take. It is very challenging, and sometimes seems absolutely incredulous, to think that a promise made 2000 years ago remains plausible in the midst of today’s societal corruption.

It will and does take time to comprehend what this means to us in 2017: perhaps, it takes prayer, or for those who do not pray, meditation, to have the faith to find the truth. In my case, this is God’s Truth. I cannot have survived the physical and psychological episodes in my life without accepting this Truth.

I am very concerned about the path we, as Americans, are taking; and, I am not just speaking about the last twelve months. I refer to the last 20-plus years. I look back over this time, only to be appalled at how far we have strayed from our Christian commandments. I want to expand this to include those offered by the ancient Hebrews and the traditional Muslims. All people of faith offer similar, if not identical, commandments. Primary in these three religions is the duty, THE DUTY, to help one another, to welcome the stranger in our midst.

When we welcome the stranger, he becomes a permanent part of our lives, even if we only meet him for a short period. We are now in the holy days of Hanukah, and the Christian Advent period, leading to our celebration of Jesus’s birth. We will invite friends and families into our homes, exchange gifts, and call ourselves people of faith, only to put these feelings on the top shelf in the pantry until next year. We are the hypocrites we accuse others of being.

I pray that we can change. We need a social revolution . . . hopefully, non-violent. If we accept the challenge, we will face hardships much worse than violence. We must accept the fact that our struggle to change is a struggle against all the institutions that we are . . . inside. We must take a philosophical, or spiritual leap, to become more human. If we can reconstruct ourselves, we will rehabilitate the world.