And now, children, remain in him, so that when he
appears we may have confidence and not be put to shame by him at his coming. 1 John 2:28
And this is the testimony of John. When the
Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites [to him] to ask him, “Who are
you?” He admitted
and did not deny it, but admitted, “I am not the Messiah.” So they asked him, “What
are you then? Are you Elijah?” And
he said, “I am not.” “Are you the
Prophet?” He answered, “No.” John 1:19-21
Piety
Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson
Whenever Richard Cory went
down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
'Good-morning,' and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich - yes, richer than a king -
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
'Good-morning,' and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich - yes, richer than a king -
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.
Study
The other day, as we heard
the story about Anna the Prophetess, she was content in her spiritual
identity. Today, that same contentedness
is seen in the person and witness of John the Baptist. We do not see John with any grand career
aspirations. He knows his role and he is
happy to fulfill that mission in life.
We do not get a sense that
John has any anxiety about NOT being the prophet, not being Elijah, or not
being the Christ. The anxiety exists all
around him though. He has confidence
that he will be able to accomplish his appointed task – being the one who
points to the Christ. John knew his role
was to be the beacon shining the way for one who was to come later.
He said: “I am the voice
of one crying out in the desert, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as
Isaiah the prophet said.” (John 1:23)
Action
We get overly pre-occupied
with what we are going to become and maybe lose track of what we are in the
present moment. It’s a question that is
ingrained in us since childhood. As a
child, we played games about what we will grow up to be. A police officer. Or a doctor.
Or a firefighter. Or a
teacher. Rather than just being happy
being a child, we are conditioned from a young age to want more than what we
have.
Then, when we grow up, we
are then always taught that we should be on the lookout for the next career
move, the bigger house, the faster car.
On we work.
The examples of Anna and
John point us to people who had confidence in themselves and the job they were
cut out to perform. They lived within
their mission and means without aspiring to any greater material possessions or
higher position in society.
How can you resolve to be
a stronger follower of Christ and Cursillista here and now? How can you have confidence in your current
role rather than wanting more?
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