Namaste'

Many of you may have seen this word at the end of my post. It is a word that is used in eastern culture and religions to say "I bow to you," or "I see God in you." I have found no other word like it in our "Christian culture" to give the idea of humility. In everyday life, "namaste" is not necessarily considered a religious gesture by everyone. Namaste is used as a friendly greeting in written communication, or generally between people when they meet in eastern culture. I find that in our western christian culture we have forgotten the reverence we should have for those around us. First because we should walk as Christ did and "do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:2)"
Secondly, the idea and use of this word for me is a daily reminder that we are all created by God and I have also been unable to find a word that can so richly describes that we are all God's children. We all have the "breath of life in us" ( God's spirit), and if we are Christ followers, Jesus has told us that He is in us and we are in him, so we are are connected.

"Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

John 14:6-21

Third, I also love this word because it does remind us that Christ is God and is in everything, holds all things together, and God brings all the broken pieces back together through Christ:

"We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.
He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross."

Colossians 1:15-20

When I think about this word, what could be more Christian than to do as "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Namaste' to me holds a wonder of Christian ideas in a simple word. "I bow to you and see God in you." Philippians 2:13 reminds us "it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."

A friend of mine told me that Archbishop Tutu came to speak to his class in seminary and said "if we could recognize the presence of God in one another, we would bow at each other's feet. How much conflict in our world could be eliminated if we really took seriously the idea that we are all made in God's divine image?" Bow to each other today.

Namaste'