"Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus."
If then there is any encouragement
in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion
and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love,
being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or
conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of
you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the
same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of
God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied
himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being
found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of
death— even death on a cross.
Service to others is the outgoing
movement of the heart prompted by compassion. It neutralizes the deep-rooted
tendency to become preoccupied with our own spiritual journey and how we are
doing. The habit of service to others is developed by trying to please God in
what we do and by exercising compassion for others, beginning with those with
whom we live. To accept everyone unconditionally is to fulfill the commandment
to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). It is a practical way of
bearing one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). Refusing to judge even in the
face of persecution is to fulfill the commandment to love one another “as I
have loved you” (John 13:34) and to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John
15:13).
--Thomas Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart, 15-16.
[This is an adapted format courtesy of Richard and Linda Hall, Contemplative Outreach of Maryland and Washington, DC]
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