WALKING ON OUR HANDS

In looking at the readings for this weekend, I was stuck. When I look at the readings for a particular Sunday, I am normally strongly drawn to a particular theme out of the many. This weekend, however, I wanted to talk about all of the readings. Fortunately, the Church, in her wisdom, puts these readings together for a reason. We’re supposed to see the connections!

So, what are the connections here? When we make the decision to up our cross and follow Christ, our lives change. We see the world in a different way. Suffering takes on new meaning. Our joys reach new heights. Sorrow becomes mingled with gladness. We bring hope to the hopeless. We bring light to the darkness. In his book on St. Francis of Assisi, G.K. Chesterton gives us the image that St. Francis was one who saw the world “as differently from other men as if he had come out of that cave walking on his hands.” St. Francis had this shift only after he made the choice to take up his own cross and follow as the Lord carried His Cross; his whole view of the world changed. Taking up our cross is the first step in the renewal of our minds. This is the first step that St. Francis took, and it is the first step that we must take. To carry the cross is to go against the world. As we take up our cross, we say to the world that we will not conform ourselves to it, but that it must conform itself to Christ. And so, we ask ourselves what does St. Paul mean by the renewal of our minds? He is telling us, in poetic language, that our minds have strayed, have become places of sin, and are in a state of disarray. Christ wants to bring us out of that place; He wants us to have minds focused on Him, to be places that cultivate virtue within us, and to be in a state of peace, clarity, and love of Him.

If we get our minds to this place, then we, like Jeremiah, cannot hold in what we wish to proclaim. We want to shout to the whole world the good news that Jesus brings. As Pope St. John Paul II said, “This is no time to be ashamed of the Gospel. It is the time to preach it from the rooftops!” Jeremiah could neither hold the name of the Lord in himself nor for himself – it became a fire burning within him. How our world would change if we all had the name of Jesus burning in our hearts so that we could no longer keep it in.

This is what we hope for with our 4th annual series of Discovering Christ. This four-week series in October is a time for us to come together and learn more about who Christ is, and how He wants to become the cornerstone of our lives. Pairing with last year’s focus on the first words, we will be discussing the last words that Jesus speaks in the Gospels. Registration is now open, and so please consider two people to encourage signing up with you. Let us come together to know Christ, follow Christ, walk on our hands, and see the world in a brand-new way!

~Grant O’Neil, Director of Lifelong Discipleship & Outreach