The 'Occupy' movement and what humanity needs

“Occupy Wall Street” ... “Occupy Boston” ... “Occupy Boise.” The movement to challenge perceived injustice by banks and Wall Street began in New York and has reached at least 12 cities. As the movement has grown, economists, pundits, political analysts – and the rest of us – are wondering where it will lead. No one has any clear answers. It’s probably safe to say, however, that no matter how this movement and others play out, prayer for stability, clarity, and wisdom on the part of protesters, police, and other officials seems essential.

One photo in the gallery on the Monitor’s website that caught my eye shows a woman with a poster that reads, “When the power of love/ Overcomes the love of power/ 100% will know peace.” That poster reminded me of something Christ Jesus said: “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me” (John 5:30).

There’s no doubt that Jesus believed in the power of love – urging his disciples to love one another as he had loved them. And there has never been a man so uninterested in worldly power as Christ Jesus. Yet his selfless – and courageous – love was so powerful that it kept him fearless and even raised him from the tomb after his crucifixion.

In some sense he was seen as a rebel, and yet the thing that made him so effective wasn’t that he was better funded or more politically astute. Rather, it was his conviction that God’s will – and not his personal, private will – had to be uppermost in thought and practice.

Of course many people claim to know God’s will and are happy to let the rest of us know what it is. But Jesus showed his obedience to God by yielding to the divine leading. He healed the sick, strengthened the weak, fed the hungry, helped the sinning as he felt led by his divine Father. Then he trusted that his example would lead others to do the same.

As I thought about the strength of his gentleness and the power of his love for humanity, I recalled this statement by Mary Baker Eddy in “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures”: “Life is reflected in existence, Truth in truthfulness, God in goodness, which impart their own peace and permanence. Love, redolent with unselfishness, bathes all in beauty and light. The grass beneath our feet silently exclaims, ‘The meek shall inherit the earth.’... Man, made in His likeness, possesses and reflects God’s dominion over all the earth” (p. 516).

This dominion “over all the earth” was captured fully in Jesus’ statement, “I can of mine own self do nothing.” That yielding to the divine power, and trusting its intelligent leading, is what has made Jesus the “Way-shower” for millions, maybe billions, of people over the centuries. His example can show us the way to support, in the way we feel guided, whatever causes we feel drawn to support. To whatever degree we can set aside personal views and agendas, and instead turn to God as Jesus did, yielding to the divine will for the future of our individual countries, healing will begin to occur.

Unity of spirit will become possible because we are turning to the one divine Mind, which is always in balance, impartial, and is also 100 percent pure divine Love. This means that no one will be left out, forgotten, or pushed to the side. As Science and Health declares, “The one Spirit includes all identities” (p. 333). Whether you’re a banker, a Wall Street broker, a nurse, a student, a protester – whatever – your identity is spiritual and is nurtured and protected by God. That’s why we can trust His will – because He loves each of us specifically.

Working together with others can lead to individual and collective blessings. But yielding our thoughts only to the oneness of divine Mind, infinite Love, opens the way to inspired answers to our own individual situations and solid solutions for the larger scene as well.

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