The
love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for
all; therefore, all have died. He indeed died for all, so that those who live
might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was
raised. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
But
I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor
by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of
the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair
white or black.
Matthew 5:34-36
Piety
GOD, grant me the serenity to accept the
things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom
to know the difference. Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a
time; Accepting hardship 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 Niehbur)
Study
The love of Christ “impels us.” It drives us forward. We do not run on a treadmill for Jesus –
staying in one place. We do not focus on
the rear view mirror. Once we have taken
the lessons of His life to heart, we have to move forward on the work to which
He has commissioned us. Our work is to
share in His mission – as co-missionaries with Christ and His apostles,
disciples, and other followers.
We do so because we have come to the conclusion
that “the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place
us with you in his presence.” (2 COR 4:14) Yet that gift is not without its
demands.
Faith – and the Cursillo way -- recognize
this need to be “impelled” through our focus on what lies ahead – what goes
onward – “ultreya.” We cannot live in the past but must live in the
present moment to prepare for the future. We cannot be stuck to some nail in
history but rather must see where that nail drives us. Jesus did indeed pass through
life. Jesus did indeed pass through the
Cross. However, he did so in order to
allow us to live in the future.
Impelled. Not impaled.
In one sense, the Gospel follows with an
acknowledgement about how powerless we really are. We cannot change a single strand of hair from
turning white or grey or black. However,
we can acknowledge that there is a greater power at work impelling us forward
to change the things we can change.
Action
What is driving you? Where are you headed? What order do you have
in life and how are you unifying the order of your life with the mission?
We are NOT used to surrendering control. Even when we take a picture these days, we
are not content until we adjust it. One
tool in Photoshop is called “levels” where we can adjust how the black, white
and grey tones appear. Here is a sample
of how we think we can change how something appears. But no matter what color this picture is
rendered to show, it is still a Hawaiian bad playing at a dance. Few clicks in Photoshop does not change
anything.
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| Original from Camera |
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| Corrected in PhotoShop |
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