Friday 11 July 2008

Today I'm repeating yesterday's piece with what follows - by Thomas Merton.

In great saints you find that perfect humility and perfect integrity coincide. The two turn out to be practically the same thing. The saint is unlike everybody else precisely because s/he is humble.
As far as the accidentals of this life are concerned, humility can be quite content with whatever satisfies the general run of people. But that does not mean that the essence of humility consists in being just like everybody else. On the contrary, humility consists in being precisely the person you actually are before God, and since no two people are alike, if you have the humility to be yourself you will not be like anyone else in the whole universe. But this individuality will not necessarily assert itself on the surface of everyday life. It will not be a matter of mere appearances, or opinions, or tastes, or ways of doing things. It is something deep in the soul.

On the sign at our church building this week it says "We are souls, we do not have souls." Deep in the soul...deep in the very essence of our being - there is the power of one who is beloved of God. That power is the power of me being me and you being you. As that power is let loose, each of us is free to become fully the image of God in whose glory we are formed. Those are grand words. It is no wonder we too often let them go to our heads and lose the meaning of those words as words of encouragement, to be at rest, and be content and wholly at peace with ourselves. Wonderful words of God love for us are meant to make us no more than who we are. And yet, upon hearing them, we often use them for "our own advantage" - that is an odd way to perceive God's love. It is for every one's advantage that we are beloved and expected to simply bring that love to life in no more than our own way.

Connection: Beloved. This is a simple mantra that can serve as a reminder of the power of life that is our very soul.

As you breathe on us, O God, there comes life that we may not have anticipated because we are so often trying to turn life into what we want it to be. Such turning is the way of warfare and disappointment. You breathe upon us and we are refreshed to be the beloved you have called us. Praise be to you, O God. Amen.