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By now, the rabbi was writhing on the floor. He trembled, and his legs began to twitch.
The congregants were stunned, and the old man's singing was painful. But none of them found need to throw themselves on the ground and hold their sides, as did the rabbi. They were used to Rabbi Levi Yitzchak falling into ecstasies in the services, and they had learned not to interrupt him. Yet his agonies seemed to continue, and his moaning became fainter. They thought he might be in danger and considered whether to intervene.
At last, three villagers approached the bima and knelt beside Rabbi Levi Yitzchak. One of them touched his cheek. "Holy rabbi, are you all right?," he asked.
After a time, the rabbi opened his eyes, and he spoke, "It is just as well that you roused me. If you had not, I would have died." The rabbi slowly stood. "But I dearly wish," he said, " that you never had. You see, in the silences in that old man's song, I heard the music of the Most Holy One, our Creator."
Once again, the rabbi faced the congregation. As he prayed, their voices joined in equal fervor.
Comments
We judge, easily, by outward appearance. We project this onto the One Who Is Love. We assume, then, our sense of Beauty is an accurate estimation of Beauty. We create prejudices based on the subjective judgments.
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The above story, agreeing with the Gospels, shows us our subjective judgments, which are often no more than socialized opinions, often do not reflect objective Truth.
Scripture teaches the Beloved Triunity does not make estimations on the same basis we tend to. We judge by outward appearance; Spirit judges by inward heart.
When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (I Sam 16.6-8, NLT)
Suggestion for Prayerful Meditation
1. What social institutions shape our perception of persons? How?
2. Which do you believe has the most influence on shaping most Christians esteem of different types of people: media, Gospel of Christ?
3. How does the Gospel of Christ challenge the social norms by which we class persons based on race, economics, religion, gender, ...?
See next page for data on purpose of OneLife Ministries, biographical information on the writer, and how to order the author's book.
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