Week of 11/6-11/2023: Exploring Humanity’s Nobility & Compassion

November 6, 2023: Our True Nobility, cont’d
Matthew tells the story of a tall, elegant Native American man who, after one of Matthew’s lectures, introduced himself as a prison chaplain. He said that “men in prison do not want to look inside. They are busy projecting onto others.” He said that Matthew’s book The Hidden Spirituality of Men was the first book he’d found that spoke about “the nobility inside.” This struck a chord with Matthew and reminded him of Père  Chenu’s statement that spirituality is “our true nobility.”

November 7, 2023: Eckhart on Our Nobility, cont’d
Meister Eckart spoke to the peasants in their own (German) language about how they are all aristocrats born of the inmost ground of Divinity. This did not endear him to those in power, including the Church. At his trial in Avignon, he was accused of “confusing the simple people” by preaching to them in their own language and telling them they were aristocrats.

November 8, 2023: Our Nobility, Our Godlikeness, Our Responsibility
Eckhart taught that every human is “born from the intimate depths of the divine nature and the divine wilderness” and is therefore noble. The theme of our “nobility” is very much related to the principal theme of Jesus’s preaching, namely that the “kingdom of God” is within and among us. In the Psalms, we read: “You have made humans a little less than God, and you have crowned them with glory and honor.” (Psalms 8:6) Our nobility and godlikeness is not a matter of preening ourselves, but it is a matter of our dignity, of “finding the nobility inside.”

November 9, 2023: Our Divine Nobility, Justice and Compassion
In her doctoral thesis on the theme of “Royal Personhood,” Helen Kenik points out that in Judaism, “the ideal of kingship was seldom realized”* but its ideal or aspiration was there, and with it, a hope that a king with true nobility would one day reign. Isaiah spoke to that hope: A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him…. Not by appearance shall he judge, not by hearsay shall he decide. But he shall judge the poor with justice and decide aright for the land’s afflicted. Divine nobility expresses and incarnates itself as compassion and justice-making.

November 10, 2023: Good News of Human Nobility & Compassion from 150 Rabbis
In this time of war and strife, it’s important to celebrate instances of true nobility and compassion. One notable example of noble character and compassion comes from 150 rabbis and rabbinical students who are calling for a Ceasefire in Gaza. Excerpts from their declaration include: Those of us grieving both Israeli and Palestinian loved ones this week know there is no military solution to our horror.… We are in deep grief over the 1400 Israelites who were brutally killed by Hamas.  We are terrified for the over 200 Israeli hostages…who remain in captivity. However, the US and Israeli governments are using our grief to justify genocidal violence directed against the people of Gaza.… According to Defense for Children Internationals, the Israeli military is killing one child in Gaza every 15 minutes…..In the face of this terrifying violence we say no! They call upon all Americans to contact their representatives to urge a ceasefire. (For the full declaration, click HERE.)

November 11, 2023: From the City of St. Louis—More Good News of Humanity’s Nobility
As we continue to seek out examples of humanity’s nobility, we come across this story. Chicago has been inundated with about 20,000 migrants, mostly from Venezuela, a country which has been in crisis for some time. As Chicago struggles to shelter and care for the needs of so many, another city has come up with a kind and ingenious plan. St. Louis has been suffering from a declining population and a dimished workforce. So, they decided to extend a welcome to Latinos, and specifically Venezuelans from Chicago. It’s a win/win/win, and an example of not only nobility, but creative and forward thinking.

* Adapted from Helen Kenik, “Toward a Biblical Basis for Creation Theology,” in Matthew Fox, ed., Western Spirituality: Historical Roots, Ecumenical Routes, pp. 27-75;

See Matthew Fox, A Spirituality Named Compassion: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine.

And Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society. 

Banner image: “Refugee, Muslin & Immigrant Lives Matter.” Paul Sableman, Wikimedia Commons.

Recommended Reading

A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice

In A Spirituality Named Compassion, Matthew Fox delivers a profound exploration of the meaning and practice of compassion. Establishing a spirituality for the future that promises personal, social, and global healing, Fox marries mysticism with social justice, leading the way toward a gentler and more ecological spirituality and an acceptance of our interdependence which is the substratum of all compassionate activity.
“Well worth our deepest consideration…Puts compassion into its proper focus after centuries of neglect.” –The Catholic Register

Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society

Visionary theologian and best-selling author Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them. 
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science.  A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics