Eric’s Sunday Sermon; Conditional Love

There are four great teachers of love. I do not put that in past tense although they died to the body. One was a great American Native Chief. Another was like an Asian monk. And one got horribly killed, we call it a Passion, as it was done in astonishing love. Then the nurse lady.

Every single one of the above had serious faults. There I do use the past tense. When we pass, anger and errors pass. But one part of us does not die. Love.

Now there is a serious death. It can kill us when we are alive. That hateful loss is conditional love. For some fully incomprehensible reason I have never been plagued with it. It would seem that some of us are made with a thorn in our side that kind of keeps us less than judgmental.

I have had a dog or maybe like four. I never could wrap my head around the notion that we “have” children or animals. Some of my plants maybe. Maybe my enormous fish tank fish? But kids and dogs poop and pee inappropriately. Shoot either one might chew on things and ruin them. And the worst is when they swallow stuff and you have to examine the crap to make sure it passed.

If the logic of judgment was followed we would hate these creatures.

Here are some folks you just can’t love. Adulterers, whores, child molesters, people with opposing political views, pompous asses, thieves and gang members. You can see the list can go on and on. Probably the saddest are alcoholics, bi-polars, Schizophrenics, addicts and homeless.

I came up with a test about who qualifies for my love. The dang thing came up with everyone getting a passing grade. So I made the test harder. And it turned out the only person who failed was me. Well that is just nuts. So I put it on a “bell curve”. Problem there was that all sinners failed. And then the next problem was that every last one of us failed.

I have to think less and love more. So I turned the test over to my heart. Not one stinking low life moronic no good failed. And then I turned my heart to those who hate me. They maybe all had good reason to revile in me.

Then I tried to determine who was bad. There was simply no equation.

So here we are. I really should go no further without saying I love you. Now do not take that too special as I apply it here. A great big old Cobb salad, any sunrise or sunset, a hike, Candy Dulfer on Sax, my roses and a bunch of gemstones/rocks are included. Crazy I think.

I really love my 10 Bibles. I think I love my Oxford compendiums of philosophy. I think I love my easy chair in my office. I am certain I love my wife’s rice sour soup/Pho’.

Now I am loving folks I do not know and a bunch of objects. Something here is seriously wrong if I don’t just plain love everyone. My computer is getting up there in age. I love it though. I was looking at a movie where the fellow figured out passwords by worn out keys. It made me look at mine. A very strange thing was that the worn out keys had nothing to do with the normal concept of “passwords” that unlock things. I cannot read L.O.V.E. on my keyboard. I have just plain worn them out. I need a new key board – or maybe not?

Once again I need to stop thinking.

Just yesterday a fellow was going after a little old lady in the grocery line for taking too long counting out change. My goodness. I am a big and ugly mean looking feller. As he was in between the fine lady and me, he was trapped. I had a good hankering to kick his ass right there. Was I wrong? The gal saw my trying to control myself. She gently touched the testosterone charged rude man and told him she was sorry and she wanted him to be happy.

I would like to make this stuff up. But life is better than my thinking. On the other hand I am conditionally loved by some people that I love. I am no saint. I think they have a fine right to hate me, or just not love me.

The only opposite of love is apathy. I wonder if my roses know I love them. Probably my son’s and my rock collection could not even care less that we love them. Well they are cleaned and well taken care of. It occurs to me that love is just being in love.

Now do not think for a moment that our loving stuff is wrong. You just do not get to put them above people.

“Don’t let me down” is a song. It is strange. It sings of an everlasting love but insists on not letting “me” down. The music is awesome.

Here is an interesting concept; “I am in love with you.” We just jump to a marriage thing. And we should. Those of us in love are married. (just a fun note – marrying condiments means to fill the same bottle with something like ketchup on a restaurant table it is like filling our hearts, vessel back up with love)

Here is another cool notion. “I do not care what you think of me.” We think of that as meaning an issue of apathy. The loving interpretation is that I will love you even if you hate me.

Old people need help getting around sometimes. Same with sick and dementia folk. It is common knowledge that their caretakers need some R&R from the chores of caretaking. It is also common knowledge that those caregivers sometimes resent their person in their charge. I just cannot judge that concept. Ill equipped I suppose.

I am just starting to reach out to others on paper and that phone thing. Email does not suffice. Effort makes a difference. I cannot write cursive. Sorry. But I want loved ones to know I love them specially.

So this guy referred to above was a great man named Sitting Bull my fave of his is; “Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love!” He says “is” come, not “has” come. My estimate is that he was smarter than Einstein.

We will leave each other now. Or maybe we will meet each other now, again I cannot understand.

To say goodbye I say the ultimate truth of love. Esperanza or our way of saying – Hope. Our choice.