March 25, 2018
Jesus’ last week on earth, has been called “The Week that Changed the World.” It began with Jesus’ bold and triumphant entry into Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday, and included his overturning of the money changers’ tables in the Temple, the Last Supper with his disciples, crucifixion on “Good” Friday, and resurrection on the Sunday we call Easter.
For much of orthodox Christianity, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus are definitive. In Unity, however, we focus less on Jesus’ death and more on his life — in particular, his teachings. What was he trying to tell us?
Last week, Jehanne de Quillan spoke about Jesus’ ministry, message, and the role of his Beloved Companion, Myriam the Migdalah (whom we know as Mary Magdalene), as she discussed the ancient manuscript she translated and published as The Gospel of the Beloved Companion: The Complete Gospel of Mary Magdalene. The original manuscript is said to have been written just five years after Jesus’ death by Myriam herself, and its passages ring with truth and authority. Here is the wording from that gospel of the commandment Jesus shared shortly before his death:
35:9 Yeshua said, “My friends, I will be with you a little while longer. You will seek me and, as I said to the Pharisees, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ So now I tell you, a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
This Easter season and beyond, let us take that commandment to heart. Let us love one another. It is what the world needs; it is what we need.