The Brown Book Commentaries

“Do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are
to say will be given you at that time … For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your
Father speaking through you.” ~ Jesus (Matthew 10:19-20)
First & foremost, it is helpful to keep the context of these two verses in mind; to remember that
these words were uttered by Jesus at a time when he was exhorting his disciples just prior to
sending them out to ―preach the Gospel‖ – to relay his ―Good News‖, which was the message A)
that Heaven was a Here&Now happening (Matthew 10:7) and B) that this present moment
―Kingdom of God‖ (Luke 17:20-21) was accessible by emulating the perfect Love of his heavenly
Father (Matthew 5:48); a Love that could only be emulated by persistently & willingly & actively
sacrificing for others (Matthew 16:28, Matthew 24:12-14 & John 13:15-17), especially our
enemies (Matthew 5:43-48) &/or the downtrodden in our midst (Matthew 25:35-40) … This is a
most difficult message to relay, no doubt, which would explain why Jesus would be so enthusiastic
in his support of their imminent journey. And the Truth he shared with them then remains valid
for us all to this day – namely, that we too need not worry about what to say when speaking of The
Way; that we too have the same Truth residing within us (John 14:20-26) – a Truth which flows
forth effortlessly whenever we are humble & calm, and consciously attentive to the needs of
others. After all, worry is a subtle yet insidious form of fear; a form of fear which always blocks
&/or distorts its opposite – namely, the Way of Christ; the Truth of perfect LOVE.
Image 402 (Page 147a) … This picture shows an elk at sunrise – symbolizing the
Truth that a persistent re-awakening of the Soul is the key to living a Meaning-full
Life; that we need not search far & wide for more important work to do – that the
only work that is truly Important is the work already right in front of us; that we
need not search far & wide for the person who needs our Love the most – that the
person who needs our Love the most is always the person closest by …
―We learn by smoothly doing … And yet sometimes we end up striving – and punching
the tar baby.‖ ~ L. F. Hilbers
This quote references a scene in the 1946 Walt Disney movie entitled Song foe the South, an
animated tale based on the Uncle Remus stories collected & compiled by Joel Chandler Harris … In
the tar baby scene, the villainous Bre‘er Fox creates a doll out of tar & turpentine and places it by
the roadside. The gregarious Bre‘er Rabbit then comes along and greets the tar baby cordially.
After being seemingly ignored by the silent stranger, Bre‘er Rabbit becomes insulted and then
infuriated, which leads him to go off and punch the ―rude‖ tar baby repeatedly for ignoring his wellintended
greeting … Of course, this didn‘t end well for Bre‘er Rabbit, as he became covered in tar &
turpentine – and, now immobilized, became easy prey for Bre‘er Fox. That he subsequently was
able to talk his way out of his predicament in no way overshadows the moral of the tale – namely,
that arrogance always leads to foolishness; that indignation always leads to error; and that
aggression always leads to victimhood … Indeed, the only way we can ever hope to learn the
essence of real Truths is by smoothly emulating them (not merely thinking about them, discussing
them, or hastily ―completing‖ them) – and the only way to smoothly do anything is A) to immerse
ourselves in what there is to do be done, and B) to do so solely for the benefit of another(s).
―Wisdom is Seeing the false as false, and the true as true.‖ ~ J. Krishnamurti
Wisdom is actually Seeing the false as
false -- and openly calling out the same,
while Seeing the true as true -- and actively
embodying it for others to See.
502