Showing posts with label Martin Luther King Jr. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Martin Luther King Jr. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 358
WE ARE
EXPLORING THE
HEAVENLY ATTRIBUTE OF JUSTICE
+ We are called to create and enjoy a realm of compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance for all.
+ Martin Luther King, Jr. on Justice and Compassion:
·
Injustice
anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
·
A nation
that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on
programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.
·
Any
religion which professes to be concerned about the souls of men and women and
is not concerned about the social and economic conditions that can scar the
soul, is a spiritually moribund religion only waiting for the day to be buried.
·
Nothing in
all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious
stupidity.
·
I believe
that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.
·
I will
mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the
death of one; not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate,
adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot
drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only
love can do that.
·
Let us
realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.
This echoes: I do not pretend to
understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little
ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of
sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends
towards justice. -– Theodore Parker
+ Martin Luther King, Jr. often said: “The arc of the
moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.” He got that line from a
19th century Unitarian minister, abolitionist, transcendentalist, Theodore
Parker. Parker was right and King was right. Justice is definitely God’s way
and it is our way as we assume our rightful role as a heavenly being.
In stillness
we can’t help but hear the cries of the poor, the alienated, the confused and
the oppressed. Sooner or later we know we must act, act on their behalf, act
for ourselves, for all. For we are all poor, alienated, confused, oppressed as
long as any one of us is. We must always identify with the marginalized.
Solidarity.
Those of us who have long benefitted from white privilege
must not be content until the day comes when the color of our skin really does
not matter. We have made progress but we still have a long way to go.
Where justice is denied, Love is denied. We have put up
barriers to keep out God, to keep out heaven, to keep out wholeness and truth and beauty. We must confess this
regularly and seek to tear down those barriers. We must find ways, all kinds of
ways, to create a society where no one is denied access to the abundance God provides.
This requires plenty of compassion and creativity. We get
this from God when we pray. Prayer changes things. It’s not magic. Prayer is an
attitude adjustment. God changes us and makes us become agents of change. We
simply don’t accept an earth where justice is denied. We can’t. We won’t.
Each of us must choose among all of the causes demanding
our attention and action. Prayer leads us to a good fit, where our unique gifts
can make a difference. Believe. The more we pray for justice, the more we can
make a big difference. Yes, we hear the cries. Our prayerful response leads to
smiles and laughter and equality. The heavenly feast is intended for everyone.
Let no one be denied.
The celebration is so much better when no one is denied.
There is so much variety on this planet, so much beauty. Justice means we all can
enjoy what everyone is offering. The barriers we have built have prevented a
lot of joy from circulating
freely. This is not God’s will. Tear down those barriers. Let Justice flow.
+ Spirituality & Practice offers
plenty of plenty of resources
on the practice of Justice and plenty of resources
on the practice of Peace and plenty of resources
on the practice of Connections. Also S&P provides a 12s
Gallery of Memes on Justice, a 12s
Gallery of Memes on Peace and a 12s
Gallery on Connections.
+ You can always find a link to any of the
Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html
SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 355
WE ARE
EXPLORING THE
HEAVENLY ATTRIBUTE OF JUSTICE
+ We are called to create and enjoy a realm of compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance for all.
+
He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
-- Micah 6:8
+ Any religion
which professes to be concerned about the souls of men and women and is not
concerned about the social and economic conditions that can scar the soul, is a
spiritually moribund religion only waiting for the day to be buried.
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.
+ This is the first post on the heavenly attribute of Justice but it really isn’t
because we have seen that justice is absolutely necessary for a real peace and
we have explored the heavenly attribute of Peace. Making these kind of
connections are such an important part of the quest for heavenly abundance. Justice is closely
connected to the spiritual practice of Humility and Devotion. We are called to
devote ourselves humbly to authentic peacemaking as we walk closely with God
and as we embrace a peacemaking, justice-oriented, religion. How do you connect
your religion with your spirituality? Do you see the connection? It really is
important. And, if your religion is not devoted to seriously addressing the
social and economic conditions we face, then you definitely need to challenge
and change it.
+ Spirituality & Practice offers plenty of plenty of resources on the practice of Justice and plenty of resources on the practice of Peace and plenty of resources on the practice of Connections. Also S&P provides a 12s Gallery of Memes on Justice, a 12s Gallery of Memes on Peace and a 12s Gallery on Connections.
+ I would love it if you offered a guest post. And, I have work to do on the Abundancetrek Peace page. Maybe you can help. Send an email with the subject “Peace” or “Heavenly Attributes” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.
+ You can always find a link to any of the
Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html
Monday, August 1, 2016
SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 217
WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE
OF HEAVENLINESS
+
He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
-- Micah 6:8 NRSV
+ Mysticism without
devotion is like uncooked food, it can never be assimilated.
— Hazrat Inayat Khan in The Inner Life
This is one of the quotes found in the Spirituality & Practice guide to the
practice of Devotion.
+ When the passion
of the mystic for God is married to the passion of the activist for justice, a
new fire is born.
-- Andrew Harvey
+ Let us realize
the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.
-- Martin Luther King, Jr. often included this great
statement of faith which he discovered in a sermon by Theodore Parker who was the rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Boston in the 19th century.
+ Justice
is one of the nine heavenly attributes which we will be exploring soon. Devotion is one of the 12
practices we have already explored but we can always come back to it and
explore it some more. In order to be
faithful to God and to all of creation we need to be devoted to compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance with our all of our
mind, heart, body and soul day after day, breath after breath. Let us keep in mind that powerful mystical
experience of Thomas Merton on the streets of Louisville which made him realize
like never before that a spiritual life must include an unceasing devotion to
justice for all. See SE214.
+ Spirituality & Practice offers
an abundance
of resources on the practice of Justice and there is a 12s
gallery on Justice.
+ Spirituality & Practice
emphasizes the practices of Love & Compassion:
+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this
practice or any practice. And, I have
work to do on my Heavenlinesspage. Maybe you can help. Send an email with the subject “Heavenliness”
or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.
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