Plain life as live by a Christian... in a spirit of faith, is a life redeemed by Christ. It is Christ's life.... When you eat breakfast, Christ is eating breakfast. When you go to work, Christ is going to work. When you meet your brother... Christ meets Christ.
Thomas Merton
as quoted in Merton's Palace of Nowhere
by James Findley
as quoted in Merton's Palace of Nowhere
by James Findley
When I first read this quotation, my initial reaction was "This is way cool!" Then, when I started reflecting on how to put this in practice, I started to see the true struggle of being a part of the "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church." There's an old saying that you can pick your friends but you are stuck with your relatives. I think the same must be said for those who are in the Church as well. Many in the Church have tried to escape this reality by forming new denominations, excommunicating troublemakers, even killing those who were named "heretics." But if we take Merton's premise seriously, we are running from, pushing away, and in the end murdering the Christ in our midst.
Another troubling aspect to this quotation is what is says about each of us and our daily lives. The daily grind of life is, in fact, the life of Christ within us. As we go about doing the ordinary activities of life, we are living and being Christ within the world. How we treat ourselves, how we respect our own dignity and worth relfects on how we view the Christ as much as how we treat those around us.
Connection: A meditation exercise I might suggest would be to reflect for ten minutes on the quality and nature of our interactions with others. Look for how they reflected our feelings for the Christ in the other person. Then spend another ten minutes on the quality and nature of how we live out our lives and how the quality and nature of how we treat ourselves reflect our feelings for the Christ within us. Finally, spend ten minutes looking honestly at how we did in these two areas without further crushing the Christ within us.
Prayer: Help us to recognize the Christ within us and the Christ within others. In the complexities of a bitter world fractured by politics, economic exploitation, and bigotry, help us to see Christ all around us and thereby to not give in to the evils that surround us, but to have a vision of your all-inclusive reign that is grounded in grace and love. Amen.
Another troubling aspect to this quotation is what is says about each of us and our daily lives. The daily grind of life is, in fact, the life of Christ within us. As we go about doing the ordinary activities of life, we are living and being Christ within the world. How we treat ourselves, how we respect our own dignity and worth relfects on how we view the Christ as much as how we treat those around us.
Connection: A meditation exercise I might suggest would be to reflect for ten minutes on the quality and nature of our interactions with others. Look for how they reflected our feelings for the Christ in the other person. Then spend another ten minutes on the quality and nature of how we live out our lives and how the quality and nature of how we treat ourselves reflect our feelings for the Christ within us. Finally, spend ten minutes looking honestly at how we did in these two areas without further crushing the Christ within us.
Prayer: Help us to recognize the Christ within us and the Christ within others. In the complexities of a bitter world fractured by politics, economic exploitation, and bigotry, help us to see Christ all around us and thereby to not give in to the evils that surround us, but to have a vision of your all-inclusive reign that is grounded in grace and love. Amen.
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