The problem in modern day Jesus speak is the religion of Christianity. Period. Hard stop.

What Jesus said and importantly lived was harmonized in real time then time and others took over. And there the existing problem persists. Sad. Yet, the truth be known, Jesus died on the cross, And for the religion that created him as its brand and logo and worse, relic defined in them and us, there is very little left to follow. But there is the real possibility. At least in my mind and heart, And there we become the traveler with the meaning of authenticity merging with the sense of eternal love. Sans the Christian religion. Or any religion made by man.

Jesus was not a Christian. He was a wandering man who came on a mission and did his best, And there in the midst of that ancient story comes the theme for all of us. Like your grand essay states, love is the way. The souls way to the here and now. And that wandering man amongst me stood his ground with love in abundance. And there is where I choose to stand. Sans the religion created by man for the those who came to power in a distant land.