Honored guest
And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
– Christ Jesus
It seems like civility slipped out in broad
daylight, leaving a shadowy, empty place
at the table – an apparent bald-faced void
seen in some uncaged remark, some
indiscriminate crossing of a line.
Yet this thought gives rise to a quiet
uprising of a winning grace within,
sparking a fresh welcome of civility in
our heart – a welling impetus to truly
esteem another’s feelings, to shield
someone’s dignity through silence, to
stifle the impulse to find fault.
This unceasing impetus – pure spiritual
goodness that flows from God, divine
Love – washes over and away the splitting
disregard of cold opinion with the truth
of our inseparability from Love.
From this spiritual reality of unity,
we – God’s children, lovely reflections
of Love’s own nature – are moved to act
thoughtfully, graciously toward each other.
The table now set within, civility softly
slips back in to break bread with us.
