Love One Another

I just remembered this Charlie Rose interview I watched one night while up late being crafty-- Anne Rice was being interviewed about her new book. It's about Jesus and everybody was all freaking out that this crazy lady who writes about vampires and maybe IS a vampire was writing about Our Lord (I have never read her books or seen her movies so all I know is hearsay so I reserve my opinion until I am better informed). I was so impressed, though, when Charlie Rose asked her, "What is the most important message Jesus taught?" She answered, "Love. Love one another. Love everyone as I love them." She went on to explain that if we really tried to live that commandment, it would take up all of our time and energy (as it should) and we'd have no time for all the pettiness and evil we are prone to. Quite the profound statement coming from the Queen of the Damned. I agree with her wholeheartedly, as do the scriptures, time and again.

So it reminded me of my favorite Christmas song: "Truly he taught us to love one another; His law is love and his gospel is peace; Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother and in His name all oppression shall cease." Ugh. That brings tears to my eyes right now because I just imagine (a) what it would be like if we all accepted and lived the gospel of Jesus Christ--all oppression WOULD cease and it would be beautiful, and (b) how sad it must be sometimes to see what Christ's message had been twisted into. I think, like Anne Rice and the apostle Paul, without charity, we are nothing.

On another note, I have a deep and abiding love for the song, "The Heart of the Matter," by Don Henley. It is so beautiful and when I hear it, I kind of feel like I got punched in the gut a little bit, like maybe I'll cry. Anyway, today they played it on the radio and then the DJ said, "That 's a great song for the season--it's about forgiveness." Hmmm...Interesting thing for the DJ to say about Christmas...truer than he knows. "These times are so uncertain/ There's a yearning undefined/ And people filled with rage/ We all need a little tenderness/ How can love survive in such a graceless age?/ The trust and self-assurance that lead to happiness/ They're the very things - we kill I guess/...I think it's about forgiveness/ forgiveness/ even if/ even if you don't love me anymore." Lovely.