A Sufi saint set out on a pilgrimage to Mecca. At the outskirts of the city, he lay down by the road, exhausted from his journey. He had barely fallen asleep when he was brusquely awakened by an irate pilgrim. "This is the time when all believers bow their heads toward Mecca and you have your feet pointing toward the holy shrine. What sort of Muslim are you?" The Sufi did not move; he opened his eyes and said, "Brother, would you do me the favor of placing my feet where they won't be pointing to the Lord?"

*Anthony de Mello

Reverence for the Divine Presence is important, but Spirit knows the heart, the intent, the love in an act of loving - And is not worship surely and only to be an act of loving? -. While we follow sacred customs and rites, we can become too strict, too concerned about external matters, and conformity. We may become critical of others who do not follow the particulars we do or our group does. We may think them less spiritual, less loyal, or disrespectful. We can act like "our God" gets upset about these relative, socially-constructed concerns, when "our God" might really think it all not that important at all, or not important at all. Possibly, "God" is truly embracing of all that brings meaning and joy to persons, that enhances life for others and ourselves, and does not care, as we do, of any devoted adherence to the details of religious or spiritual practice, as we tend to. Could it be such strict adherence easily becomes a veil of our need to feel right and others wrong, to be superior to others. Certainly, if I choose to follow some reverential act in respect for Grace, for me to deny that practice is a matter which can be seen by me as disrespectful. For another person that may not be so.

Most of all, we need to remember that all religious, spiritual. and moral practice is to lead us to be more caring beings, including opening our selves to appreciate the diverse ways humans experience the Ineffable. Does the Spirit really care if my feet are pointed to a holy shrine? If I prostrate? If I bow my head? If I take off my shoes? If I do a mudra or the sign of the cross? Possibly, such does not matter, unless it matters to you. Or unless you agree to observe such with others as a matter of agreement in practice, to express a shared life and worship.

* * *

What is important is where the heart is directed. So, yes, be respectful of other persons' customs in spiritual faith and practice. Likewise, respect your own. And remember these are only means, relative means, not absolutes but pointing to, hinting of, the Absolute in which all relative acts of loving find their source.

* * *

Through spiritual maturation, thankfully, we come to see that all acts of devotion are relative, for the Absolute, their source, is not relative. Yet, this relativism does not diminish them. For one, kneeling and receiving the Bread and Wine is an opening to the Absolute, a rite of Awe to receive a grace beyond mind and body, unseen but shown somehow. For another, she bathes in Mother Ganges. For another, he walks a trail through the woods, worshiping by communion with Life through that living all around him. Another sits quietly, invoking Deity by silent mantra, moving fingers bead to bead or seed to seed. Who is to condemn rightly any person's means of opening to Grace? As wrote the immanent, Orthodox Jewish scholar of mysticism Abraham Heschel, "We do not leave the shore of the known in search of adventure or suspense or because of the failure of reason to answer our questions. We sail because our mind is like a fantastic seashell, and when applying our ear to its lips we hear a perpetual murmur from the waves beyond the shore." Any act of devotion, any created means or object, is an opportunity to listen freshly to our heart, to the Heart of Life, to allow our longing for the More to point us to a Life and Grace, a Meaning, yes, the Ineffable, Mystery both far distant and as close as we are to ourselves, indeed closer.

I
embrace diversity in religion and spirituality
not out of a concern for tolerance
but from embracing Love, yes, more
being embraced by Love
to live in and for Love only ~
may it be so
for such Grace I pray
for such Love let us pray, together

©Brian Kenneth Wilcox 2017. Brian is a Hospice Chaplain, living out his vow to serve all living beings by serving those preparing to die and their friends and family. Brian lives a vowed life, alone in a quasi-hermitic life, and integrates varied religions, but most especially the contemplative paths of Buddhism and his native faith, Christianity. Brian received a 'mystical' Christ-experience at age 9, and was introduced to a peace untouched by pain and suffering. Later, in his mid-30s, after surviving a dark night of despair, Brian was vowed to a contemplative Christian way of life on St. Matthew's Feast day, 1995, by Greenbough House of Prayer, in Georgia, USA. This began many years of ardent reading, spiritual practice, and exploration of many spiritual paths, including publication of his book An Ache for Union: Poems on Oneness with God through Love. The Journey has led Brian to the joy beyond the ache, a contentment in experiential union with Grace. Brian lives with the affirmation that Love, not as emotion but Divine Presence, transcends all paths of religion and is our Source and Destination. As St. Paul writes in the Christian Bible, "Now remain always, faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love." Peace to All!

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