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Wisdom Quote
An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
*Attributed to Mahatma Gandhi.
Today's Scripture~Matthew 5.28-30 (NLV)
38 "You have heard that it has been said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' 39 But I tell you, do not fight with the man who wants to fight. Whoever hits you on the right side of the face, turn so he can hit the other side also. 40 If any person takes you to court to get your shirt, give him your coat also."
Wisdom Story
Once, a little boy was confronted by three bullies. Either of the three could have obliterated the little guy. They were giving some evidence that they intended to do just that. The little boy backed away. He drew a line in the dirt, backed up a few steps, looked in the eyes of the largest bully, and he said, "Now, you just step over that line." Confidently, the big bully stepped across the line. The small boy grinned, saying, "Now, we're both on the same side."
*Zig Ziglar. Courtship after Marriage.
Comments
Where the Spirit flows, there will always been an Urge to move toward a common center of agreement and action. This Harmony is a sure witness to the Presence of God. This corresponds to the Simplicity of God, for the Divine is the Infinite Singularity appearing in the Diversity of Nature.
God is Harmony, an uncreate Harmony that makes possible created diversity by being Harmony. This Harmony holds within Itself all potential and particular expression, even as a face holds within itself the potential of all facial expressions. The Simplicity of God makes possible, by being Simplicity, multiplicity. This Simplicity is the Gathering Point, or Center, of multiplicity.
Sharing a common space or language, or a common anything, is not to be seen as the gathering together of persons in Spirit. Too often compliance, moral, religious, political, or otherwise, is taken for spiritual harmony. Rather, any compliance alone is antithetical to spiritual fellowship. This is a reason that persons simply agreeing with religious authority, or any authority, will never enjoy what the New Testament calls koinonia, or fellowship, partnership, togetherness.
Fellowship is not a matter of agreement of the head. Fellowship is agreement of heart. This spiritual agreement fosters diversity of thought and act, for such is grounded in the heart. This heart entails the will to see the substantial Presence of God already within the other.
All war and violence would cease if we grasped heartfully that we each are substantially one with the Sacred. Do we, as human communities, dare do violence to God for a political or religious cause? Yes, we do. Sadly, Christianity continues to fail, as do other religions, at living the nonviolence it attributes to its founder.
Where does peace begin? Not in religion. Not in politics. Not in moral conformity. Not in compliance. Peace begins in each of us. Without inward peace being the graced fount of harmony among us, peace remains an intellectual ideal. As peace is practiced among us, that peace supports and nurtures our growth into beings and communities of peace.
However, we should not neglect the extent to which many persons, even some we would call "good citizens" or "good Christians," are resistant to peace. When a person is acclimated within to inner violence, he or she may be largely unaware of the extent to which he or she is uncomfortable with outer harmony.
Reflection
How does contemplative prayer aid growth of inward peace?
Brian will respond to requests pertaining to seeking a Spiritual Mentor. He offers retreats, workshops, and classes in such subjects as Contemplative Prayer (he trains in Visualized Praying, Centering Prayer, Christian Meditation, The Jesus Prayer, ...), Contemplative Living, A Spiritual Understanding of the Lord's Prayer, and Spiritual Use of the Scripture. See any major on-line bookseller for his book An Ache for Union.
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