Jesus says to his disciples,

I have told you these things while I am still with you. But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you. (John 14:25-26 / Amplified Bible).

The liberating Holy Spirit gathers together all peoples of the earth, representing a great diversity of meaning-seekers, in order to lead all of them towards the Kingdom of God.

Last Year, our community was treated to a daylong program called Vital Voices (Faiths in Conversation), and this year Vital Voices 2 will be held at St. John's Anglican Church on Saturday, September 27, from 9am to 4pm.

The goal of this event, like last year, is to feed those who have a hunger for spirituality, meaning and purpose in their lives. Our guest speakers will be Abbess Khenmo Drolma, from the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition, and Rev. Dr. Carol Kilby from the Gaia Center, which offers programs in the areas of ecology and earth-based spirituality.

I was to talking with a group of people, some were friends and some were friends of friends, a few weeks ago. We were sharing our thoughts, hopes, and wishes. I was telling them about Vital Voices 2 and a meeting that we had had at St. Mark's during which we explored potential refugee sponsorship in the Orangeville area. People from different denominations were present at this meeting but they were united in their passion to help and take care of those families (our bothers and sisters) who live in troubled areas of our world. Together, our group was able to organize a Pot- Luck Supper for those in our community interested in this Holy Ministry. The supper will be held at the Westminster United Church Hall on Wednesday, September 10th at 6pm (all are welcome!)

Speaking with my friends about all of this, we together recalled the above-mentioned verses of John's Gospel. Jesus promises to be with us through the constant work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is actively present everywhere, among all other nations, working with them through the Holy Spirit.

We talked about the positive differences we are witnessing in the 21st century. Dictators are not able to easily oppress their subjects and stand proud of their actions. International organizations point to them, find them, and unite to stop them. International courts question them. We discussed how it is no longer easy for groups or individuals concerned only with profit to pollute planet earth.

There are devoted and passionate groups of people who speak out against earth-polluters. We talked about how peace has become an international cause among all peoples of the earth, peoples with different religious backgrounds.

But there were a few people among us who did not agree with this viewpoint. These people expressed a view that the world was doomed and would never change. They cited the Gospel of Mark:

He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:15-16 / NIV).

We all listened carefully and contemplated on this passage.

The discussion continued when one of the group brought up an interesting point. This individual pointed out that this passage is, in the footnotes of some English Bibles, regarded to be a later addition and, hence, not authentic.

A world famous scholar and New Testament commentator, the Rev. William Barclay, writes in his 'The Gospel of Mark' about Mark 16:9-20:

We have only to read this passage to see how different it is from the rest of the gospels, and it is in none of the great manuscripts of the gospels. This is a later summary which replaces the ending which either Mark did not live to write, or which at some time went lost.

Its great interest is the picture of the duty of the Church it gives to us. The man who wrote this concluding section obviously believed that the Church had certain tasks committed to it by Jesus. (Page 390, Eighth impression, March 1965).

Then, our discussion continued. A member of our group suggested that even if Mark 16:9-20 was authentic, that it was our task and duty to discover the true meaning of preach the good news to all creation. He asked this question to our group: Does Jesus' instruction to preach the good news mean that we ought to try to convert other peoples to what we believe by force, or is it rather about what Jesus says himself:
The Spirit of the Lord is
on me,
because he has anointed
me
to preach good news to
the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim
freedom for the
prisoners

and recovery of sight for
the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the
Lord's favor. (Luke 4:18-
19 / NIV)
This individual was

adamant that it is our task to try to disc over what condemnation means and how it applies in the 21st century. He encouraged us to refresh our understanding of the Bible on the basis of faith, reason, tradition, new discoveries, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

We could all agree that this process takes time, endurance, contemplation, long and hard study, meditation, and the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Then another friend, who is a divinity student, spoke a warning about what we say when we talk about Jesus and his message. This friend suggested that we must be careful in what we say to our youth.

We are human beings and we get upset, he reminded us, for our own personal reasons. It is important, then, that we do not form prejudices in our unconscious and hide them under religious beliefs in order to justify our feelings. Perhaps, this is the reason why Jesus says,

Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea (Mark 9:42 / NASB).

After our discussion had ended, I remembered one of my most favorite passages:

John said to Jesus, Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn't in our group. Don't stop him! Jesus said. No one who performs a miracle in my name will soon be able to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us. If anyone gives you even a cup of water because you belong to the Messiah, I tell you the truth, that person will surely be rewarded (Mark 9:38 - 41 / NLT).

And this is our amazing Jesus! Jesus cares about everyone, dies for everyone, saves everyone, gives water to the thirsty, and feeds the hungry. But, we try to correct Jesus, limit his liberating message to our own advantage, and go beyond him. However, no being can go beyond Jesus. Going beyond Jesus, is falling behind Jesus. Going beyond Jesus is falling into the trap of legalism. Going beyond Jesus, means raising the walls and curtains again.

I believe that whoever believes in Jesus' liberating message and is not against him is a citizen of the Kingdom of God. Sufis, Buddhists, pacifists, mystics, even agnostics who praise Jesus as a great reformer in human history and strive for human welfare are gathered under Jesus wings. We should never forget that Jesus says, "Anyone who is not against us is for us". Let us celebrate this holy inclusively.