Taking Refuge

Taking Refuge

"One bread, one body, one Lord of all
One cup of blessing which we bless
And we though many, throughout the earth
We are one body in this one Lord.
 Verses:

Gentile or Jew, servant or free
Woman or man no more.

Many the gifts, many the works
One in the Lord of all.

 Grain for the fields, scattered and grown
Gathered to one, for all. "

There are many ways of taking refuge; while some may associate this term as being strictly Buddhist, it is not. Many, if not most religious traditions have this notion. Its most simple and literal meaning is to be sheltered. To take refuge is often thought of as coming into a moment, any moment of stillness, of shelter, where a rising awareness of a divinity, of salvation may well.

For some, the words of the psalm are new; for others this refuge is a favorite. For all, it rends hope, expresses the idea of taking refuge in the Christ, the one begot by God for all of mankind to share in salvation, or holiness. The three jewels, if you will, for Christians are faith, hope and charity. The greatest of these however is charity, or caritas in Latin. It translates most simply to mean love. Whether you accept the message or the messenger is not the point here: refuge is the point in its various forms.

In this refuge, the food upon which the faithful feast is love, divine love. The water they drink ends their thirst for all time. Their growing awareness of reality as expressed in the Psalms is light and clarity. Kindness and compassion guide the believer to paths which are gentle and unperturbed by pride, angst or wickedness. The song the psalmist sings is many; it's one. One bread for all, one body existing in this one Lord.