Week of 6/12 – 17/2023: Generosity and the Nobility within Us All

June 12, 2023. Kindness and Generosity, Lost Children Found in a Jungle & more
We all had cause to rejoice when four indigenous children were found in the jungle after being alone for 40 days following a plane crash in which their mother, the pilot, and another passenger were killed. This remarkable story is a beautiful reminder of the kindness and sacrifice involved in caring for our kin (how the 13-year-old must have stepped up so heroicly into her responsibility to care for her siblings), as well as the generosity and kindness of those who would not give up the search.

June 13, 2023. Generosity and Nobility: Intrinsic to All, Basic to Worship
The word “generous” in its archaic form meant to be highborn and characterized by a noble spirit. However, nobility shouldn’t necessarily mean being born into a noble class. Eckhart said that, rather, it means being born “from the noblest foundation of all,” namely that of the Godhead, the epitome of generosity.

June 14, 2023. Meister Eckhart on How All People are Nobles and Aristocrats
Eckhart preached about the nobility of everyone. This got him in some hot water, as you can imagine. Indeed, there were two trials against him, and the second one did not go well. Sadly, he died shortly thereafter, and then after his death, was condemned. One of Eckhart’s statements was: How nobly humans are constituted by nature, and how divine is the state to which they can come by grace…. Instead of attacking nobility directly, he chose to elevate the peasant. This is an important concept today when there are people who would elevate a certain leader and project all their power onto him. Perhaps if they could instead learn to see the nobility within themselves, there would be no need for a “leader” who promises to avenge their anger and hatred of others.

July 15, 2023. Eckhart on the Nobility of All, Part II
We continue to explore Eckhart’s wise words. Matthew tells us that Eckhart relates our nobility to our being part of the “kingdom of God.”  If the kingdom of God is everywhere, we are all royalty, all part of it, no matter our status in society. Eckhart talks about our inner self as being the place where the inner seed of God is found. He says: The inner person is the one of whom our Lord says that ‘a man of royal birth went to a distant country to be appointed king.’  This is the good tree of which our Lord says that it always bears good fruit and never evil fruit.  For it desires goodness and is included to goodness. He further accentuates our divinity by saying: “The seed of a pear tree grows into a pear tree, a hazel seed into a hazel tree, the seed of God into God.”  

June 16, 2023. Eckhart on Democracy (and Love, Equality, Compassion, Justice)
Eckhart speaks of compassion: You are to love, esteem, and consider all people like yourself; what happens to another, whether it be bad or good, should be for you as if it happened to you. He also insisted that “compassion means justice.”  He speaks also of equality, telling us that “between a master and his servant there is no peace because there is no real equality.”  As Matthew says, Remarkably, Eckhart’s deeply held sense of democracy precedes Thomas Jefferson by 450 years.

June 17, 2023. Juneteenth Holiday 2023: Generosity and Justice on the Rise
Generosity is linked with kindness, and kindness is linked with compassion, and compassion is linked with justice. Eckhart has a wonderful statement about this: “Compassion is where peace and justice kiss.” And generosity also has its roots in nobility. Well, if each of us has that spark of nobility and divinity, then the inherent dignity in us will cause us to rise up and demand the justice that is everyone’s birthright. And this marks the holiday we celebrate this weekend.

Banner image: “Crown on the bust of John the Baptist, c. 1370, St. Johann, Aachen.” Wikipedia. Public Domain
(The esoteric meaning of a crown is “divine authority, power, and inner strength. It symbolizes the spiritual connection of an individual to the divine realm and signifies their spiritual awakening and the realization of one’s true potential.” Spiritual Desk)

Recommended Reading

Passion for Creation: The Earth-Honoring Spirituality of Meister Eckhart

Matthew Fox’s comprehensive translation of Meister Eckhart’s sermons is a meeting of true prophets across centuries, resulting in a spirituality for the new millennium. The holiness of creation, the divine life in each person and the divine power of our creativity, our call to do justice and practice compassion–these are among Eckhart’s themes, brilliantly interpreted and explained for today’s reader.
“The most important book on mysticism in 500 years.”  — Madonna Kolbenschlag, author of Kissing Sleeping Beauty Goodbye.  

Wrestling with the Prophets: Essays on Creation Spirituality and Everyday Life

In one of his foundational works, Fox engages with some of history’s greatest mystics, philosophers, and prophets in profound and hard-hitting essays on such varied topics as Eco-Spirituality, AIDS, homosexuality, spiritual feminism, environmental revolution, Native American spirituality, Christian mysticism, Art and Spirituality, Art as Meditation, Interfaith or Deep Ecumenism and more.