April 11, 2019
For full passage click: Philippians 2:5-11 …“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus…” vs. 5
Jesus was the incarnation of the Christ and so are we! In us the very essence of God is pleased to dwell, and through us the world is being transformed. This truth has been around for millennia and it’s about time that we begin to take it seriously. It’s not that we’re called to puff up our chests and lord it over others as neighborhood know-it-alls or petty politicians. Paul makes our role pretty clear: the mind of Christ, the one that was in Jesus, is rooted in humility, the abdication of power and might. Instead of ruling over others, our role is to subvert the ways of the world from beneath, by adopting gentleness and kindness as our weapons. Of course that isn’t any easier for us than it was for Jesus. Ultimately, it means the death of self, the putting aside of our own aspirations in favor of lifting up the needs of others, even if it means following Jesus on the road to suffering and death. It’s as we carry our crosses on the way of discipleship, that the great paradox kicks in and we discover that, in losing our lives, we actually have begun to get a foretaste of resurrection. As St. Francis put it, “It’s in dying that we are born to eternal life.” It’s in emptying ourselves that we find fullness.
Thought for the Day: What would happen if I emptied myself?
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