Tags
A Deep Breath of Life, Alan Cohen, consciousness, favorable light, Jesus, judge, look for the good, Matthew, motive, St. Vincent de Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality
Today, as yesterday, the theme seems to be about the danger of making judgments without sufficient evidence. In the gospel (MT 13:54-58) Jesus is teaching in his hometown synagogue and people are questioning how he could possibly sound so wise given the fact that his father, Joseph, was a lowly carpenter and the rest of his family had no “pedigree” either. The conclusion was that “they took offense at him.” Nothing about what he said, but just whether he had a right to say it, given the lowliness of his station in life!
So as not to be repetitious, I pulled out Alan Cohen’s book, A Deep Breath of Life, to see what his subject was for this date. Cohen announces his topic with a quote for the day at the top of the page. Today’s was quite clear: Make it a practice to judge persons and things in the most favorable light at all times, in all circumstances. (St. Vincent de Paul) and in the last paragraph of the reflection I read the following;
Things are not what they appear to be. We never know the motive or consciousness behind someone’s actions. Any act can be a tool for the ego, or an avenue for the Holy Spirit. We inherit the world we build with our thoughts.
Today, it seems, will be another opportunity for me to practice because we have a weekend workshop at our Center that I am helping to facilitate. Time to clothe myself in hospitality and look for the good in everyone!
