The greatest commandment

Any religion;

whichever myths have inspired it,

no matter how it connects its members

with divine spirit,

whatever its claims,

however it patterns its ritual

or intones its worship;

is an empty shell

if it fails to draw from its adherents

lives of creative generosity.

In the writings of a breakaway group

named for its reluctant founder;

the plethora of commandments

in the Hebrew scriptures

surrender their ground

to a pair.

The carpenter from Nazareth

spoke often of divine agape,

the source of all that is good and true.

His listeners were invited

to make their own fruitful responses,

to share the love.

He calls this costly agape stuff

the greatest of fruits,

and enacts it at every opportunity.

Love, along with her precious siblings;

generosity, forgiveness, peace, tears and hope,

provide the means, he assures us,

by which the planet,

along with its diverse and wonderful creatures,

will find life.

© Ken Rookes 2014