Sermon for Sunday - March 23, 2014: Window to the Soul

"Ut imagio est animi voltus sic indices oculi."

-- Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 B.C.)

"The face is a picture of the mind as the eyes are its interpreter."  Cicero's "face" was that of a statesman, a politician, well known for his "inconsistencies and a tendency to shift his position in response to changes in political climate" Oh!  A politician!  I'll bet that played well on his face.  As a politician he would be well schooled in reading the true meaning of his contemporaries in the Roman Senate. 

Cicero's quote has simplified down through the centuries to become, "The eyes are the window to the soul."  But, are they?  How many of us can truly read a person by their eyes alone?  Hell, we try doing it via e-mail.  How silly is that?  The only way we can have good communication, and truly understand the other party, is to verbally communicate so we can listen to them.  Communication is about facial expression, voice inflection, and the eyes.  Some one can say they're frightened, but unless you see them how will you truly know how frightened they are?  And, how many times have you said something in an e-mail or a letter that has been taken in totally the wrong way?

This Sunday try turning the phone off and shutting down the computer.  Go outside into the world and communicate.  Communicate your love for God.  Communicate with some one you care about, and tell them how much you care. If they are out of town try using the phone instead of e-mail so they can at least hear your voice and you theirs.  Take some time today to practice interpersonal communication.  Throw the kids outside and make them live life while you're at it

Always remember, Cicero's statement is only valid if you are there to see the other person.

God bless us all this Sunday.