Spirit of Largesse

I am reflecting this morning on how we unbind ourselves from the things that prevent us from following Jesus as Christians.  I believe that is the truth contained in the Gospel passage which recounts the raising of Lazarus; we need to unbind ourselves from the things in our lives that hold us back.  One of the ways I have been considering in which we can do that is the spirit of largesse that we can cultivate towards others and the world. 

The concept of largesse does not seem to be a popular one in today’s world.  Charles Williams writes of the largesse of spirit which he defines as courtesy, generosity, humility and charity.  He consider the essence of Christianity to be,  “the doctrine of largesse; the doctrine of the Trinity is a doctrine of largesse; the doctrine of the Redemption is a doctrine of largesse…the doctrine of all true adoration—single or mutual—is a doctrine of largesse”. 

It is inspiring to see doctrine to be considered in this way.  I believe that Pope Francis is expressing the doctrine of largesse when he seems to want the Roman Catholic Church to move towards a pastoral approach to  remarried parishioners receiving communion and relationship to LGBT parishioners rather than the (capital D) Doctrine of the church.  This largesse of spirit is what Jesus calls us to in our relationship to others.  How can we practice and strengthen the largesse of spirit in our approach to refugees in the current crisis.  I believe, putting politics aside, that Justin Trudeau has shown he desires to govern with a spirit of largesse.  At least there seem to be intentions of that.  We shall see if that is carried through as the new Canadian government is sworn in and begins to govern.

I believe that what this world needs is a cultivation of the spirit of largesse in our relationships.  May we all strive to have that spirit grow within us.  Blessings.