Holy
Encounter, Batman!
“When
you meet anyone, remember that it is a holy encounter. As you see
him, you will see yourself...for in him you will find yourself or
lose yourself.”
A
Course in Miracles (p. 132)
Yesterday,
in Spirituality Group, we discussed the unity of God, using the
scriptures from John (10 & 17) in which Jesus is quoted as
saying, “I and the Father are One.” Extending it, he also says,
“I am in you, and you are in me, and we are one with the father.”
(I'm paraphrasing.) We spoke of the difficulty of recognizing that
holy unity in people we don't like. In every group of individuals,
whether it's at work, or in your place of worship, or in your
neighborhood, there will be people who simply irritate you with their
very existence—speaking for my tiresome self, of course.
One
member of our group is a student of A Course in Miracles, and
each week he brings a reflection from that work to our discussion.
One point it repeatedly drills home is, “Ego separates and divides,
and spirit unites.” “Ego thrives on judgment.” I hate that!
Every single week I am convicted! What about you; do you have trouble
with ego? Don't we all? We spend the first half of life trying to
prop up our spindly ego, and second half trying to break it down.
It's exhausting.
But
it occurs to me, maybe that's the point. Perhaps the whole reason for
being is wrestling with these two sides, this dark and this light,
always in conflict with each other, always tugging and pulling on our
consciousness for recognition. Perhaps the process of building up and
tearing down is how we grope our way toward the unity of spirit.
People are put in our path to reflect back where the areas of light
and darkness are, where the spiritual work needs to be done. As
another member of the group said, “That is the practice.”
Today,
let's try to recognize that—to see each person we meet as a holy
encounter with our self. It will likely drive us crazy, but we just
might learn something important.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
No comments:
Post a Comment