I believe Christians, which of course I include myself, can into trouble when they fall into the habit of just quoting scriptures without actually learning from the life of Jesus himself. How he treated others, in the way he responded to those who considered themselves his enemies, his relationship with those who were considered outcast and worthless. When the actual life of Jesus is forgotten, then the Christian path can become an ideology, closed, narrow and filled with prejudices. It is easy to see what is wrong with the world and our culture, without understanding how each of us plays a role in what is going on in the world. Faith can be demanding, God can seem far off, and at times, like Jesus, we can feel abandon and near despair. Perhaps it is when we are at our lowest, is the time when we understand our need for grace and healing and in that understanding begin to change in our judgments of others, if they are harsh and judgmental, in ways that we are told not to. All we need to do is seek to grow in love, to expand our hearts, refuse to hate ourselves and not be afraid of self knowledge. That should keep us all busy enough that we will have little time in looking down on others.
Br. Mark Dohle. OCSO
Holy Spirit Monastery
