Rather, living the truth in love, we should grow in every
way into him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole Body, joined and held
together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each
part, brings about the Body’s growth and builds itself up in love. Ephesians 4:15-16
“But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all
perish as they did!” Luke 13:5
Piety
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
--Reinhold Niebuhr
Study
Sometimes, I am tempted to
change the Tripod to Piety-Study-Change.
After all, Jesus does not want us just to keep moving along the same
path we are on today. No, he does not want action just for the sake of busy
action. Like the barren fig tree, he
will be patient with us while we change.
He will be patient with us until we produce the kind of fruit he wants
us to produce. He wants us to grow
toward him, into him.
St. Paul knows first-hand
the value of changing behavior. Maybe
getting knocked off his horse is one reason why he prays that the people of
Ephesus will grow in every way until they live the truth in love.
The natural state of our
lives seems rooted in discord and disunity.
Yesterday, the media blared another school shooting on the heels of the shooting
in Canada’s parliament and the latest Ebola victims. Maybe that is why using the organic image of
a body helps St. Paul get across the idea and the plea for unity in the church.
If he can teach that Christians have
been fashioned through the Spirit into a single harmonious religious
community (one body) belonging to a single Lord (in contrast to
the many gods of the pagan world), maybe he can affect individual and group
behaviors.
Christian unity is more than
adherence to a common belief. Lots of
other peoples in history have held to a common belief. This Christian ideal must be made – we do
that by using Christ’s gifts to serve the broader community in order for it to
become more “Christ-like” as well.
St. Paul goes on to describe
the “temple” (not just the individual) as a growing organism. As one and as a whole, we are here to grow toward
Christ and to become Christ. Maybe that
is why our current state is paralleled to the barren fig tree, a story about
the continuing patience of God with those who have not yet given evidence of
their change. The gardener (the Holy
Spirit?) will continue to work on us in order to make our lives fruitful.
Action
In his preaching and teaching,
@Pontifex wants us to change as well.
Since ascending to the chair of St. Peter, Pope Francis has embarked on
a remarkable journey very quickly. He
has risen three of his predecessors to sainthood (John XXIII, Paul VI, and John
Paul II). He has issued two letters: The apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (“The Joy of
the Gospel’) and the encyclical Lumen
Fidei (“The Light of Faith”). He has travelled to Brazil, Israel,
Jordan, Palestine and South Korea. He
will head out to the Philippines in January.
What kind of change has he
been advocating? Lately, he has been
speaking and writing extensively about income inequality. “Inequality is the root of social evil.”
This also was a theme in the Joy of the Gospel:
“The
need to resolve the structural causes of poverty cannot be delayed.... As long
as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the
absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking the
structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world’s
problems, or, for that matter, to any problems. Inequality is the root of
social ills.”
According to the article in
America magazine linked above: Pope
Francis identifies this inequality as the foundation of a process of exclusion
that cuts immense segments of society off from meaningful participation in
social, political and economic life. It gives rise to a financial system that
rules rather than serves humanity and a capitalism that literally kills those
who have no utility as consumers. Inevitably, such exclusion destroys the
possibility for peace and security within societies and globally. The cry of the
poor captured in “The Joy of the Gospel” is a challenge to the
“individualistic, indifferent and self-centered mentality” so prevalent in the
cultures of the world; it is a call to confront the evil of economic exclusion
and begin a process of structural reform that will lead to inclusion rather
than marginalization.
What are your attitudes
about money: making it, keeping it,
using it and giving it away?
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