Whenever
I go to a coffee shop, I enjoy asking the baristas how their
day is going and listening with genuine interest to what is happening in
their lives. I also like learning new things from them - whether it
be the name of a treasured music band, an interesting website with which
I was previously unfamiliar, or a life-experience they've had that is
unique and valuable. Yesterday, a barista at our local coffee shop
told me that the person who collects and washes the dishes had commented
on how much he appreciates the fact that I learned his name and always
ask how he is doing.
In my spiritual tradition - a branch of the
Protestant Radical Reformation composed of seekers called "Contemplative
Spirituals" - there is a realization that EVERY person is equally a
Word of God spoken to us. George Fox, founder of the Quakers - those
17th century seekers who were the direct descendents of the
Contemplative Spirituals - recommended that his followers "Travel the
land, seeking to ANSWER to that of God in everyone." This implies that
the Divine is ALREADY present in every person we meet, and waits in
hiding for us to acknowledge and value their innate divinity. This
attitude arises in part because of the realization that EVERY PERSON IS A
MINISTER. It is for this reason that the early Quakers, who called
themselves simply "Friends," addressed each other as "Thee" and "Thou."
For they understood that everyone is of equal value in the eyes of God.
In biblical terms, this realization focuses on what is called
"the priesthood of all believers." It is based in part on St. Paul's
teaching on the Body of Christ. Using this metaphor, we might say that
one person is a "hand," while another is a "foot," another is a "brain
cell," and another is a "face." Paul reminds us that the foot can't say
to the hand: "I don't need you," and vice versa. In our own society,
those who see themselves as "brain cells" need especially to remember
this truth! Moreover, this interdependence applies not just to
Christians. A third century church father named Origen of Alexandria
realized that the Body of Christ includes EVERY person on this Earth.
In fact, he also understood that other creatures are also an integral part
of this fundamental spiritual reality.
This egalitarian teaching
carries over into our life in society. Unfortunately, human beings are
always looking for ways to exalt themselves over others. Thus, for
example, only a few of the thousands of necessary vocations use special
titles. "Doctor," "Professor," "Coach," "President," "Judge," and
"Reverend" come to mind here. However, all of these people are only
alive and functioning, for example, because of the anonymous migrant
farm workers who pick the fruit they eat each day. Shouldn't THEY be
recognized as dignitaries as well, and perhaps given a special title by
society? Moreover, these "doctors," "professors," "coaches,"
"presidents," "judges" and "reverends" can only can drive their cars to
work because of those who change their oil and fix their tires.
Shouldn't THEY ALSO be recognized with special titles? These same
"dignitaries" only have a clean bathroom to use because of the invisible
night janitors who clean their toilets. THEY TOO should be recognized
as noble and given special titles. And these same people only have
coffee to drink in the morning because of a barista who starts their day
off with a smile and a warm compliment. Shouldn't THEY be given
special titles as well? Indeed, ALL of us are ONE BODY, with no
exceptions, a fact to which no ego-based hierarchy can ever answer.
One of the things I appreciate about Nature is the fact that there is
no attempt by one part of the landscape to exalt itself over any other.
There are no names, no special titles, no ego-attempts by a sunset, for
example, to exalt itself over a leaf or a snowy peak. All are
necessary components of the landscape, and all remain self-forgetful of
their special role. Yet they are the necessary ground upon which all of
us live our lives, providing us with our air, soil, and water. Like
God, they do not care to be recognized, much less exalt themselves over
us. Thomas Merton realized the great holiness of these natural
elements and sought to emulate them when he wrote: "For my part, my name
is that sky, those fenceposts, and those cedar trees. I shall not even
reflect on who I am . . . I shall never even be forgotten because no
one will ever discover me. This is to me a source of immense
confidence." As Merton puts it in another passage, "The forms and
individual characters of living and growing things, of inanimate beings,
of animals and flowers and all nature, constitute their HOLINESS in the
sight of God . . . The pale flowers of the dogwood outside this window
are SAINTS. The little yellow flowers that nobody notices on the edge
of that road are SAINTS looking up into the face of God."
Today,
as you go about your business, please remember to value and affirm
everyone you meet, especially those who carry no special societal title.
Pay attention to them, learn from them, view them as your spiritual
teachers. Please seek always to "answer to that of God in them." For, as
Jesus once said; "Whatever you do to the least of these, you have done
unto ME."
Photos: (Top) Fremont Cottonwood leaf, Watson Lake,
and Bellvue Dome just before sunset, Bellvue, CO, November 5, 2014; (Middle) Sunset over the High Park Burn, near Bellvue, CO, November 5,
2014; (Bottom) Hallett Peak looms over a snowy landscape, Rocky
Mountain National Park, CO, October 27, 2014
