What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus?

Here are a few thoughts from the Rev. Dr. Robin R. Meyers, an American Christian minister, peace activist, philosophy professor and author of seven books on Progressive Christianity and Western society. From a lecture the Rev. Meyers delivered at Pitt Street Uniting Church in Sydney Australia on May 20, 2016.

Jasmine auriculatum,
found in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka,
Bhutan, the Andaman Islands,
and my Albuquerque garden.

Next time you are in the grocery store and you see the young black man sacking your groceries lower his gaze, meet it and say thank you, sir.

Plant a garden and tend it.

Raise your children to understand that violence in all its forms is a scourge.

Practice the lost art of being humble and walk lightly through your day.

Leave places, things and people better than you found them.

Don’t cheat on your taxes.

Remember, you are not self-made.

Give people the benefit of the doubt.

When you think you know, that is when you do not know; but when you know that you do not know, that is when you know. (referencing the Tao)

We need sacred spaces and must try to keep them.

Either all of us matter, or none of us do.

You can’t be too honest or too compassionate.

See and understand that a father with 4 kids and no job is a crisis.

See and understand that a mother of 4 kids whose husband has left her and who shoots up as a means of coping is in crisis.

See and understand that a photo of the arctic shelf showing that it is 40% less than it was 30 years ago (1986) is a crisis.

See and understand that Jesus was a subversive for the cause of love.