The Tao of Jesus

 

This is a transcript of a talk I gave at Unity Lincoln (Nebraska) on March 19, 2023. May you have a good Good Friday!

The Tao of Jesus

by

Jim Wilson

Good morning!

Today is the fourth Sunday of Lent. At Unity, we use this season as an opportunity to "let go" of things in our life that don't serve us.

Today is also the last of Unity Lincoln's Metaphysics Class called The Tao te Ching and the Way of Jesus. We just finished up an hour ago.

The class came about because when I first read the Tao te Ching many years ago I saw a lot of similarities to the wisdom of the Bible. 

And Lent is the perfect time to talk about the Tao te Ching, because much of it is about "letting go."

I'll begin by briefly discussing what the Tao te Ching is. It's a philosophical text that was divided into 81 chapters. The chapters are very short, most no longer than one paragraph, and depending on the translator might be written as poetry. 

It was traditionally thought to be written around 400 BCE in eastern China by Laozi, also known as Lao-tzu, an archivist for the royal dynasty. This was around the same time that another Chinese philosopher named Confucius developed his ideas, Buddhism was founded in India, the Torah or Old Testament was compiled in the Middle East, and Plato was writing in Greece.

The Tao te Ching is a foundational text of the religion of Taoism, but isn't the only text. The Tao te Ching may have helped inspire Taoism or it may have been a reflection of the attitude and worldview of early Taoists.

And I should say upfront that I know nothing more about the religion of Taoism. My reflection is about the Tao te Ching. 

Now, you might be wondering, what does "'Tao te Ching' mean? How are those words translated?"

 The dictionary definition for Tao is "the absolute principle underlying the universe, signifying the way, or code of behavior, that is in harmony with the natural order." 

The title  "Tao te Ching" has been translated as:

• The Way of Integrity

• The Classic of the Way and its Power,

• The Book of the Way and of Virtue,

So "the Tao," and "the way" are used interchangeably.

The Tao te Ching begins by saying:

The Tao that can be expressed is not the eternal Tao; The name that can be defined is not the unchanging name.

Later, in Chapter 21, it says:

Since before time and space were,

the Tao is.

It is beyond "is" and "is not."

How do I know this is true?

I look inside myself and see.

In the first several weeks of the class, I thought of the Tao as an unfathomable, incomprehensible, impersonal force, even as we compared the wisdom of its teachings to the examples of Jesus.

For instance, Chapter 3 of the Tao te Ching says:

If you overly esteem talented individuals, people will become overly competitive.

400 years later the Gospel writer wrote in Luke 9: 

An argument arose among them concerning which one of them was the greatest. But Jesus, aware of their inner thoughts, took a little child and put it by his side and said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me, for the least among all of you is the greatest.”

I was understanding the Tao te Ching as full of practical wisdom for our thoughts and actions. But the Tao itself? The "underlying principle?" The "way?" THAT was too mysterious to contemplate.

I got the feeling that maybe the Tao is just saying to be humble and content in a meaningless universe.

But then it hit me some weeks ago after reading passages like these.

From Chapter 49:

The Master (that is, the one who embodies the Tao) has no mind of her own. She understands the mind of the people. To those who are good she treats as good. To those who aren't good she also treats as good. This is how she attains true goodness. She trusts people who are trustworthy. She also trusts people who aren't trustworthy. This is how she gains true trust. 

From Chapter 58:

Thus the Master makes things change without interfering. She is probing yet causes no harm. Straightforward, yet does not impose her will.

And from Chapter 62

The Tao is the tabernacle of creation; it is a treasure for those who are good, and a place of refuge for those who are not. How can those who are not good be abandoned? Words that are beautiful are worth much, but good behavior can only be learned by example. … Why was the Tao esteemed by the ancient Masters? Is it not said: "With it we find without looking. With it we find forgiveness for our transgressions." That is why the world cannot understand it. 

What is the Tao te Ching saying? Or what is it hinting at?

Well, here is my attempt to sum it up:

The Tao is patient, the Tao is kind. The Master of the Tao does not envy, she does not boast, she is not proud. She does not dishonor others, she is not self-seeking, she is not easily angered, she keeps no record of wrongs. The Tao does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. The Tao always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Does that sound familiar? Do you detect some plagiarism in what I just said? You would be right. I stole from 1 Corinthians 13.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love is the tabernacle, the meeting place of all creation. It is the refuge of those who are good and aren't good. Love does not abandon those who aren't good. Love forgives.

Or to paraphrase Chapter 21 of the Tao from earlier:

Since before time and space were,

Love is.

It is beyond "is" and "is not."

How do I know this is true?

I look inside myself and see.

The Tao as an intellectual concept is undefinable. Like the word "God," it is too big for words. It is incomprehensible.

Love as a concept is also undefinable. It also has a meaning too big for words. But it IS comprehensible. It IS knowable. We know love when we feel loved. We know how we feel when we express love in words and actions.

Might I suggest, then, that Love is the Tao. Love is God. When you think of the Tao, think of Love. When you think of God, think of Love. 

Love is "the One Presence and one Power active in my life and in the universe."

And this Presence is in the present, not in the past.

Last summer Unity minister Mark Hicks was on Gaylon McDowell's Truth Transforms podcast. Mark said this, quoted at length:

"Jesus never said, 'why does this person have leprosy?" Jesus never said, "Why does this woman hemorrhage?'  Jesus never asked, 'Why did this person die?' ... What Jesus did was he transformed. … We claim in New Thought that there is no condition that cannot be transformed into a greater good. That doesn't mean the condition was caused by God to teach us a lesson.  It just means that tsunamis occur. Cancer occurs. We are not about pointing a finger about who caused that problem. We are rather about transforming that evil into a greater good, and that there is no condition that cannot be transformed into a greater good.

We in New Thought say that the evil conditions in life are not acceptable. We don't have to wait until we die to be free from our limitation. We are called to transform life, not to stoically accept evil things and to judge. That's not our business. That's not what Jesus did. Jesus healed. He transformed. That's the power of a metaphysical Christian." End Quote.

Love is that transformative power that turns evil into good.

Here's an example from Luke 19:

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Jesus was the Master of the Tao. In Zacchaeus, he trusted the untrustworthy. Jesus treated as good one who was not good, and the home of Zacchaeus became the "tabernacle" or meeting place.

It was through the love of Jesus that Zaccheaus "let go" of his old ways. To paraphrase today's Daily Word [March 19] that was read earlier [in the service],

Zacchaeus found encouragement in Jesus's kindness and compassion. As Jesus shared of himself in kind and loving ways, he heartened the spirit and bolstered the faith of Zacchaeus.

Love transformed Zaccheaus.

In the "40 Days of Letting Go" booklet, today's lesson (March 19) is "The Process of Denying the Power" by Reverend Christina Garza. It mentions the time when Jesus encountered the paralyzed man at the Pool of Bethesda. The man wanted to explain his situation to Jesus, to say "why" he was there even though Jesus never asked. Jesus only asked, "Do you want to be made well?"

This is the way of Jesus, the Tao of Jesus, which is also the Tao te Ching, the way of virtue, the way of power. It is to love one another in the present moment.

In the "40 Days of Letting Go" booklet we are challenged to let go of the regrets and bitterness of the past and the anxieties of the future. Anything that can prevent us from living our fullest, best life in the present.

Because it is only in the present that we experience love's presence.

May we "let go" and let God" and follow the Tao of Jesus, the way of love.

Thank you.

James Leroy Wilson writes The MVP Chase (subscribe) and JL Cells (subscribe) and thanks you for your subscriptions and support! You may contact James for your writing, editing, and research needs: jamesleroywilson-at-gmail.com.