The Human and Divine, pt. 2

Fr. Richard Rohr teaches us the importance of seeing the divine in every human being. He writes,

”The Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Lévinas (1906–1995) said the only thing that really converts people is “the face of the other.” He developed this idea at great length and with great persuasion, if you are interested in going deeper. [1]“When we receive and empathize with the face of the “other” (especially the suffering face), it leads to transformation of our whole being. It creates a moral demand on our heart that is far more compelling than the Ten Commandments written on stone or paper. Just giving people commandments doesn’t change the heart.

“In the end, Christianity is not a moral matter until it is first and foremost a mystical matter. Commandments and laws may steel the will, but they do not soften the heart—or create soul—like one authentic I-Thou encounter will do. Thus, we have produced an awful lot of “mean” Christians, which we must admit is Christianity’s present public image. [2]”



[1] Olivier Clément, The Roots of Christian Mysticism (New City Press: 2013), 47.
​[2] Ibid., 46.

Rohr, Richard. The Face Of The Other. September 31, 2019 devotional.