Sometimes I feel very fortunate. I am quite fortunate to be able to engage on a daily basis a group of young, bright women and men in interesting discussions. Well, most of the time they are interesting. Some days I do get the feeling that I am in the minority of those in the room who have read the assigned reading. At one level, I understand that.
Not all classes are equally important every day. Some days if a student has a huge examination in one class, I can understand that the reading for my class may have been ignored. That is the way it works in the world, too. If I have a significant public presentation the same day as classes, I might not be as prepared for them as I otherwise would be.
Clearly one of the keys to community life is shared responsibility. And that might mean some days I am more responsible and other days you might be more responsible than I am. It is a matter of balance.
So most days, the joy of being able to walk into a room of young folks is rewarding. I am quite aware that for most of them, taking a Religion class with me is only part of fulfilling a requirement. My responsibility is to create an intrigue, develop an interest when they did not expect it. Most of the time it works. Other times it just isn’t the appropriate juncture for them. I am ok with that.
Recently, I had the opportunity to lead the group in a discussion of Cicero. I suspect there was not one student who knew anything about Cicero. They would not have had a clue that he was a very important figure in the Roman Empire only three or four decades before Jesus was born. They would have no way of knowing that Cicero has actually had significant influence in the Christian story. But that is not important.
We were reading Cicero’s fascinating treatise, On Friendship. In that writing I came upon a great sentence. He is taking about why friends “do not exercise kindness and generosity in order that we may put in a claim for gratitude.” To the contrary, he says. And then he notes, “…there is something in our nature that impels us to the open hand and heart.”
Those words---open hand and heart---stunned me. That is a brilliant way to describe authentic friendship. A friend is someone with an open hand and heart. I like the image. It is easy to imagine the open hand. The reverse is a closed hand---at worst, a fist! But the open hand is welcoming, connecting, and capable of embracing. It is invitational rather than confrontational.
It is a little more difficult to imagine the open heart. I think the open heart appears in more subtle ways. It may be the smile, the eyes that say, “hello,” and
the relaxed body that is non-threatening. The open heart is the heart willing to risk when others are cautious. The open heart is the vulnerable heart.
The open hand and heart characterizes the best of spiritualities from many traditions. Surely, it perfectly depicts Jesus. It describes the Buddha as I read about him. In our own time, it surely portrays Martin Luther King, Jr. and his commitment to non-violence. Nelson Mandela fits the bill---open hand and heart.
Fortunately, it is not just for the spiritual giants. It is possible and preferable for those all of us. Most of the time, our spiritual venues are the small, routine places in life. For me it is the routine of the classroom. I get to try it with those young women and men. Your venue is different than mine. But you have the venue, too.
If I want to live more deeply spiritual this day, I want to look for those places and opportunities where I can be available with an open hand and heart. You too?
Not all classes are equally important every day. Some days if a student has a huge examination in one class, I can understand that the reading for my class may have been ignored. That is the way it works in the world, too. If I have a significant public presentation the same day as classes, I might not be as prepared for them as I otherwise would be.
Clearly one of the keys to community life is shared responsibility. And that might mean some days I am more responsible and other days you might be more responsible than I am. It is a matter of balance.
So most days, the joy of being able to walk into a room of young folks is rewarding. I am quite aware that for most of them, taking a Religion class with me is only part of fulfilling a requirement. My responsibility is to create an intrigue, develop an interest when they did not expect it. Most of the time it works. Other times it just isn’t the appropriate juncture for them. I am ok with that.
Recently, I had the opportunity to lead the group in a discussion of Cicero. I suspect there was not one student who knew anything about Cicero. They would not have had a clue that he was a very important figure in the Roman Empire only three or four decades before Jesus was born. They would have no way of knowing that Cicero has actually had significant influence in the Christian story. But that is not important.
We were reading Cicero’s fascinating treatise, On Friendship. In that writing I came upon a great sentence. He is taking about why friends “do not exercise kindness and generosity in order that we may put in a claim for gratitude.” To the contrary, he says. And then he notes, “…there is something in our nature that impels us to the open hand and heart.”
Those words---open hand and heart---stunned me. That is a brilliant way to describe authentic friendship. A friend is someone with an open hand and heart. I like the image. It is easy to imagine the open hand. The reverse is a closed hand---at worst, a fist! But the open hand is welcoming, connecting, and capable of embracing. It is invitational rather than confrontational.
It is a little more difficult to imagine the open heart. I think the open heart appears in more subtle ways. It may be the smile, the eyes that say, “hello,” and
the relaxed body that is non-threatening. The open heart is the heart willing to risk when others are cautious. The open heart is the vulnerable heart.
The open hand and heart characterizes the best of spiritualities from many traditions. Surely, it perfectly depicts Jesus. It describes the Buddha as I read about him. In our own time, it surely portrays Martin Luther King, Jr. and his commitment to non-violence. Nelson Mandela fits the bill---open hand and heart.
Fortunately, it is not just for the spiritual giants. It is possible and preferable for those all of us. Most of the time, our spiritual venues are the small, routine places in life. For me it is the routine of the classroom. I get to try it with those young women and men. Your venue is different than mine. But you have the venue, too.
If I want to live more deeply spiritual this day, I want to look for those places and opportunities where I can be available with an open hand and heart. You too?
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