Today’s Readings: Psalm 95; Joshua 8:1-21; John 7:14-24; 1 Corinthians 8:7-13; Psalm 31
As a person who is extremely visual, I often need a concrete expression of something to really absorb the information. When I meet someone, for instance, I’m much more likely to remember the person’s name if I see it in writing. If I’m simply told the name, chances are I’ll forget it. Same thing goes when I am rearranging furniture in a room. If I can sketch out the possible layout of the room before I begin, I’m much more comfortable when it comes time to begin moving the objects. I’ve even found this true for how I practice my faith. So what object have I discovered that helps me grasp the essence of my faith as a Christian? The cross. Now some would hear that and assume the cross is a helpful physical expression of my faith since it connotes the radical sense of discipleship to which we are called. That’s certainly true on one level. I find the cross helpful for even more basic reasons, however. The physical design of our modern cross reminds me of what I feel are two foundational aspects of our faith. The horizontal beam, for instance, reminds me of arms. These arms represent a call to reach out to the world in love and service. And the vertical beam? Well, for me the vertical beam represents a balance between head and heart. I was reminded of this connection between head and heart in today’s Gospel reading from John. As Jesus was verbally jostling with the crowd about what standards they should use to evaluate one’s behavior, we are told Jesus said: “Don’t be nitpickers; use your head – and heart! – to discern what is right, to test what is authentically right” (John 7:24 from The Message). So how are you in terms of following Jesus’ advice? Is your faith based on just one of the extremes (head OR heart); or do you work at developing a healthy balance between the two? Next time you glance at a cross, you might thinking of using the cross as a reminder to aspire to better balance the two. Til next time…
As a person who is extremely visual, I often need a concrete expression of something to really absorb the information. When I meet someone, for instance, I’m much more likely to remember the person’s name if I see it in writing. If I’m simply told the name, chances are I’ll forget it. Same thing goes when I am rearranging furniture in a room. If I can sketch out the possible layout of the room before I begin, I’m much more comfortable when it comes time to begin moving the objects. I’ve even found this true for how I practice my faith. So what object have I discovered that helps me grasp the essence of my faith as a Christian? The cross. Now some would hear that and assume the cross is a helpful physical expression of my faith since it connotes the radical sense of discipleship to which we are called. That’s certainly true on one level. I find the cross helpful for even more basic reasons, however. The physical design of our modern cross reminds me of what I feel are two foundational aspects of our faith. The horizontal beam, for instance, reminds me of arms. These arms represent a call to reach out to the world in love and service. And the vertical beam? Well, for me the vertical beam represents a balance between head and heart. I was reminded of this connection between head and heart in today’s Gospel reading from John. As Jesus was verbally jostling with the crowd about what standards they should use to evaluate one’s behavior, we are told Jesus said: “Don’t be nitpickers; use your head – and heart! – to discern what is right, to test what is authentically right” (John 7:24 from The Message). So how are you in terms of following Jesus’ advice? Is your faith based on just one of the extremes (head OR heart); or do you work at developing a healthy balance between the two? Next time you glance at a cross, you might thinking of using the cross as a reminder to aspire to better balance the two. Til next time…
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