HE WAS CRUCIFIED...
“The cross of Christ
is the call to our hearts that reminds us that nothing ushers in the dawn of
God except living it. But it’s not that
easy. A commitment untested is no
commitment at all. But who wants the
promise of the cross? Who wants the
rejection? Who wants the
foolishness? Who wants the risk? Not I.
And yet without it, the Creed goes flat…. The cross reminds us daily
that God did God’s part: Jesus came and,
in him, God showed us the Way. We have,
then, all been saved. We have been saved
from our delusions about what is really important in this world. We have been saved from our fear of risking
disapproval here. We have been saved
from our sense of nothingness in the face of God because God walks the way we
all must walk. We have been saved from
the right to claim darkness of soul and uncertainty of vision. The fact is that we know very well what we
are expected to do because we have already seen Jesus do it.”
Practice: The Cross implies commitment, not to our own
personal life plan, but to God’s plan for us.
We are called to imitate Christ, to follow his Way of the Cross, and to
die to self. Dying to self involves,
among other things, living for other, practicing charity-caritas, radical love for other.
This means actively working to eliminate anger, resentment, selfishness,
vanity, pride, and judgment from our lives.
Practice radical love this week.
When you encounter an individual with whom you might not be on the best
of terms, reach out to that person.
Transform a critical remark into an expression of affirmation. Embrace the Other who rebukes or rebuffs you. Love, radically.
Quotations from Benedictine
sister Joan Chittister’s book In Search of Belief, which explores the Apostles’ Creed phrase by phrase,
demonstrating how the Creed is not a static set of rules or statements, but a
living document that speaks to the deepest meaning of our existence and serves
as a life guide, calling all of us to engage more deeply in relationship with
God and with each other. Sr.
Chittister’s thoughts challenge us to live the Creed more fully as Christians;
her writing is thought-provoking and inspirational.
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