Simply Do The Next Loving Thing

I went to Scripture Study last night in my church hall.  I am certainly not a Holy Roller and my level of knowledge regarding scripture is rock bottom.  But I go to this scripture group because this is my current connection to my church.  I go because the other people in the group are loving and supportive and they seem to be in the same boat as me.  They, too, do not present as Holy Rollers and scripture scholars (although probably more knowledgeable than me).  We all seem to be searching for truth and love and it is nice to be doing it together.  In this group, I never feel judged or disrespected and I am hopeful that I am accepting and non-judgmental as well.     

I arrived early and when I expressed to one of the other participants that my faith was at an all time low and my disagreement with Vatican teaching/dogmas were at an all time high, he shared his own feelings about such things with me.  What he said was comforting and reassuring.    Dogma is not what is important.   Even, all-too-human failings-in the hierarchy is not what is important.   Oh, please don’t get me wrong, we still need to be prophetic voices and work with the Spirit to renew the face of the earth by uncovering and confronting evil, greed and corruption.  Nonetheless, the Spirit of God, which is the Spirit of Love, is still present in each of us and we can continue to share this Spirit as best we can in our everyday life regardless of all the current and past problems and concerns that exist in our church structure and bureaucracy.    So instead of being completed discouraged, I came away from our scripture group with a “Ray” of hope.    I have a renewed commitment to remember (over and over again) the advice I was given years ago (and then again last night) which is:

“to simply do the next loving thing”.

 I must remind myself of this little, but powerful fact.  If I do this I will fill up with the Spirit of God, which is now and forever the Spirit of Love.   And, I expend my energy on loving rather than on all the negative things going on around me.