The Messiah Is One Of Us
Once upon a time there was a wise abbot of a monastery who was the friend of an equally wise rabbi. This was in the old country, long ago, when times were always hard, but just then they were even worse. The abbot’s community was dwindling, and the faith life of his monks was fearful, weak and anxious. He went to his friend and wept. His friend, the Rabbi, comforted him, and said “there is something you need to know, my brother. We have long known in the Jewish community that the Messiah is one of you.”
"What,” exclaimed the abbot, “the Messiah is one of us? How can this be?”
But the Rabbi insisted that it was so, and the abbot went back to his monastery wondering and praying, comforted and excited. Once back in the monastery, he would pass by a monk and wonder if he was the one. Sitting in chapel, praying, he would hear a voice and look intently at a face and wonder, is he the one. The abbot had always been kind, but now began to treat all of his brothers with profound kindness and awe, ever deeper respect, even reverence. Soon everyone noticed. One of the other brothers came to him and asked him what had happened to him.
After some coaxing, the abbot told him what the rabbi had said. Soon the other monk was looking at his brothers differently, with deeper respect and wondering. Word spread quickly: the Messiah is one of us. The monastery was suddenly full of life, worship, love and grace. The prayer life was rich and passionate, devoted, [...] and services were alive and vibrant. Soon the surrounding villagers came to the services, listening and watching intently, and many joined the community of monks. After their novitiate, when they took their vows, they were told the mystery, the truth that their life was based upon, the source of their strength, the richness of their life together: The Messiah is one of us.
The monastery grew and expanded into house after house, and the monks grew in wisdom and grace before each other and in the eyes of God. And they say still, that if you stumble across this place where there is life and hope and kindness and graciousness, that the secret is the same: The Messiah is one of us.
How do you relate to the notion that spaces of hope and kindness are related to how profoundly we see each other? Can you share a personal story of a time you saw others with profound possibility or were seen that way by someone? What helps you practice seeing the profound in others?
I love this story. Thank you.
Namaste! My divinity within me, greet your divinity within you.
By Nature innately & inner-netly from origin each human soul is a bundle of divine positivity without exception.This is exactly the eternal search & spirituality we all practice. One who realizes it is the Master/Messiah. Everybody of us is thus a potential Master with such a firm belief-faith.The moment this happens the world becomes full of life,worship,love, grace,passion, devotion,alive & vibrant. The very outlook & perception changes to Change everybody-everything-everywhere for a fulfilling life. We get connected in a single worldwide web with compassion,sympathy & empathy. Still as an ardent student, I see Sant Kabir had that profoundness in the most down to earth style.Belief-Behaviour-Business can help deliver the promised land.
Beautiful story . There is God in each one of us and it is for each one of us to be aware that God is within us all the time .
I like the story that Megan McKenna tells. It's what happens. Gandhi said, "If you don't see God in the next person you meet, it's a waste of time to look further." If we see God in each other, and realize that God is infinite possibility and love, how could we not feel hope and kindness? There were times,especially when I was younger, that a teacher or elder saw profound possibility in me and told me so, profoundly raising my self-esteem and self-confidence. Those statements still remain with me and are part of my undergirding. Knowing and reminding myself that God incarnates into each of us helps me see the profound and divine in everyone.
