In our Epistle today from Corinthians, we hear: “…from now on we regard no one according to the flesh … whoever is in Christ is a new creation…” Recently I read David Brooks’ book How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen. At one point, Brooks talks about how we categorize people. Sure enough, this past week I was in a situation of meeting new people. I found myself asking them their occupations, which led to discussion of degrees and careers, etc. Brooks gives a counterexample: A man named Jimmy whom he met greeted everyone with respect and reverence, seeing in them a transcendent spark that gave them value and dignity. He greeted them as though they were those new creations, as though they were awesome, and he was so lucky to be in their presence. I am continually dismayed at how separated we are from one another by categories: economic categories, race, sexual orientation, geographic divisions like farm states and urban states, political categories like liberal or conservative. Imagine if we all did as Jimmy, and saw people we encounter every day first as those new creations, instead of first putting them into slots. A little spiritual practice for our week!
— Blog entry by Sister Mary Garascia