Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher and poet in the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and a critic of the pressures that society placed on people. He disseminated his thoughts through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures across the United States.
Emerson noted three qualities he deemed as marks of true “success”:
1. The ability to discern and appreciate beauty,
2. The ability to see the best in others, and
3. A commitment to leaving the world a better place.
Notice that Emerson does not say that success comes in having the best seat at the table or the stadium, acquiring more material possessions, or belonging to the best clubs.
Emerson contends that success comes with appreciating God’s world, developing loving relationships with God’s people, and with working to improve God’s world. A God Nod
Jesus would agree heartily. Jesus said to the man who had invited him to dinner, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” (Luke 14:12-14).
Jesus is teaching us that they are all members of one family. Just think how much richer your table talk would be if you didn’t just associate with your friends and your closest relatives.
Remember that it is around the dinner table that wonderful things happen. Invite other people to your table. Who might you invite to your Easter table? They are all members of God’s extended family. This is a Lenten thought
Some thoughts from R. Robert Cueni
