Creating Hospitality
OCTOBER 18TH, 2009 — 32ND SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
ISAIAH 53: 10-11, HEBREWS 4: 14-1, MARK 10: 35-45
Dear Friends,
On this Sunday, Jesus teaches that he comes not to be served, but to serve. It reminds me of Henri Nouwen's talking about hospitality. He says that if we are so full of our own agenda, our own way of looking at things, there is no room to welcome another. He advocates creating a place of hospitality to welcome another by putting aside our agenda, our way of looking at things so that there is room for the other to enter in and feel at home and share their story, their concerns. We try to enter into their world and learn from them what the world looks like from their point of view, what their story and their concerns are, what wisdom and grace they have within themselves to share. Thomas Merton imagines what the world would be like if we all behaved in this way.
Capable Flesh
Then it was as if I suddenly saw
the secret beauty of their hearts,
the depths of their hearts
where neither sin nor desire
nor self-knowledge can reach,
the core of their reality,
the person that each one is
in the eyes of the Divine.
If only they could all see themselves
as they really are.
If only we could see each other that way
all the time,
There would be no more war, no more hatred,
no more cruelty, no more greed…
I suppose the big problem would be
that we would fall down and worship each other.
the secret beauty of their hearts,
the depths of their hearts
where neither sin nor desire
nor self-knowledge can reach,
the core of their reality,
the person that each one is
in the eyes of the Divine.
If only they could all see themselves
as they really are.
If only we could see each other that way
all the time,
There would be no more war, no more hatred,
no more cruelty, no more greed…
I suppose the big problem would be
that we would fall down and worship each other.
(by Thomas Merton)
We invite you to come and pray with us at Spirit of Life and share in the experience of who each of us are which graces our time together. We are a Catholic community where every voice is heard, and women and men are unafraid to acknowledge the equality of women and men; and to embrace feminine as well as masculine... and beyond... images of God. As a community, we try wholeheartedly to "be Christ" to one another, to tend to the needs of one another, and to those in need in our world. Together, we celebrate our belief that we are being transformed by God's grace as we gather together in prayer. We warmly invite you to come and gather with us at our Table, and join in our experience of the "kin-dom" of God. We are an inclusive, open, affirming and interactive community, deeply committed to being a people of "justice and joy."
May your heart be an open space for others to find a home, people of "justice and joy."
Wishing you the gifts of simplicity and peace of heart,
Find more about past weekly reflections and podcasts in our ARCHIVE PAGE.
