The Brown Book Commentaries

“For to those who truly Have, more will be given, … but from those who do not Have,
even what little they possess will be taken from them.” ~ Jesus (Matthew 13:12)
For those mired in self-focus this verse sounds almost masochistic. Indeed, why would more be
given to those who already have? And why would everything be taken away from those who already
have nothing? It just doesn‘t seem fair. And if we are speaking of the standard, self-centered
mindset, it is indeed an unjust statement – no doubt about it … And yet Jesus was quite clearly not
speaking in harmony with the standard way of thinking, just as he was quite clearly not ever acting
in harmony with the normal way of doing things. He had come with a very different message – one
that would require others to renew their minds (Matthew 7:5) by awakening their hearts (Luke 6:35),
and a way that required them to repeatedly alter their ways of dealing with one another (i.e. become
repeatedly ―born again‖ a la John 3:3-8, by actively Loving one‘s enemies a la Matthew 5:43-48
&/or actively Caring for the down trodden a la Matthew 25:35-40) … For Jesus, wealth was not
related to material things at all (either God or wealth a la Matthew 6:24), but rather was a spiritual
reward that came from choosing selfless Love (―if you would be perfect‖ a la Matthew 19:21) …
For Jesus those who ―Had‖ were those who were engaged in acts of willing self-sacrifice – those
engaged in selfless giving – those engaged in community service – those engaged in Love. And for
these people – for those fully immersed in his Way of perfect Love, more & more opportunities to
serve would be given them (not only because more would be attracted thereto, but also because the
more one Loves the more one opens one‘s eyes to Seeing the need for Love that is all around us in
every moment of our lives) … Conversely, those who ―do not Have‖ in this way – those who refuse
to care for others or refuse to give generously or refuse to Love humbly, all that they have
accumulated instead will become a source of suffering for them – all will be either lost or taken
away or become meaningless ballast on their feeble meanderings through life.
―Anything that binds, binds Love with it.‖ ~ anonymous
This is quite True indeed … For all desire binds our ability to freely Share, and Sharing is Love
… And all fear binds our ability to deeply Care, and Caring is Love … And all obligation binds our
ability to truly Give, and Giving is Love … And all commitment binds our ability to powerfully
Cherish, and Cherishing is Love … And obeying rules & regulations binds our ability to purely
Serve, and Serving is Love … And adhering to all cultural norms binds our ability to be profoundly
Intimate, and Intimacy is Love … And focusing on hopes & dreams binds our ability to
spontaneously Flow, and Flowing is Love … And aligning ourselves with religious dogma binds out
ability to humbly Worship the Inner Essence that is God, and Worshiping humbly is Love … And
blindly following routines & habits binds our ability to Immerse gratefully into the moment, and
Immersing thankfully is Love … In the end, it is indeed so that – just as it is the Truth of selfless
Love that sets us free, all
that binds us – and
thereby all that binds our
Love – cannot be our Truth.
And to be profoundly guided by ―the
unusual‖ we must be open to witnessing
(and to then be inspired by) radicalized
manifestations of Virtue as much as we are
open to noticing (and be led by) Life‘s
more remarkable happenstances … Yes, it
is true that it is wise heed the Call of the latter -- to examine the archetypes present within every
manifestation of ―synchronicity‖ (those moments so momentous and so meaningful as to seem ―remarkably
coincidental‖), for Love is indeed at work in such moments. That having been said, Love is just as evident
in those times when we witness the homeless man offering to share his meal with a wealthy passerby (Be
that man when you yourself have little!) or when we witness the woman who has just lost her husband
reach out to comfort a stranger (Be that woman when you yourself are in crisis!) or when we witness a coworker
place an anonymous gift on the desk of the boss who had just finished hurling insults (Be that
person when you are attacked by an enemy!). For these too are those moments when ―normal people‖ do
extraordinary things; when everyday meetings become incredible expressions of Caring … These too are
times when Love‘s veil is most thin, and Love‘s majesty most readily Seen.
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