Encountering the Stranger as Spiritual Practice

I already have a great line up of new blog posts that have been sent to me for this coming week for the series What is a Spiritual Practice. They are on topics as varied as grieving, relationships and making space for the rabbi.  This morning I am posting a second article by Gary Heard in Melbourne Australia.

A walk down Errol Street near home on any afternoon allows me not only to greet many friends along the way, but to encounter a parade of strangers. So many unknown faces pass by – people with whom I share a precinct, but whose names and lives are alien to me. I realise that a large part of life in the 21st century is lived amongst strangers, as we pass hundreds of faces each day which we have learned to tune out: bodies without identities. We have neither the time nor the energy (nor the inclination) to make connections with every one of these people, who would mostly regard any attempts to do so as an irksome interruption to their plans. Aside from what would be received as an invasion of personal space, a simple five minute chore would require hours to engage with everyone I encountered along the way.

As I read the gospel accounts of Jesus’ resurrection I am struck by how often he is first encountered as a stranger: read the rest here

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