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THE WORLD AS IT SHOULD BE > WEEK 1

Me First

When we think about how the world should be, many of us start focusing on what other people need to fix.  It seems like it's the other people who always need the fixing.

But Jesus always seems to be reminding us to start with ourselves. As Christians, we should continually be experiencing conversion: letting God's love break open our hearts and turning our lives completely around to seek the Kingdom. How can we break through our own resistance to the Good News and let Christ rule in our own lives?

The disciples came up and asked, “Why do you tell stories?”

He replied, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn’t been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That’s why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they’re blue in the face and not get it. I don’t want Isaiah’s forecast repeated all over again:

Your ears are open but you don’t hear a thing.
    Your eyes are awake but you don’t see a thing.
The people are blockheads!
They stick their fingers in their ears
    so they won’t have to listen;
They screw their eyes shut
    so they won’t have to look,
    so they won’t have to deal with me face-to-face
    and let me heal them.

“But you have God-blessed eyes—eyes that see! And God-blessed ears—ears that hear! A lot of people, prophets and humble believers among them, would have given anything to see what you are seeing, to hear what you are hearing, but never had the chance.
Matthew 13:10-17, The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. 
Compare to NRSV and NAB.

It Begins with Us

The Times once asked famous authors to respond to the question, “What is wrong with the world today?”  Catholic intellectual G.K. Chesterton reportedly responded:
Dear Sir,
I am.
Yours, G.K. Chesterton
Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.
George Bernard Shaw
If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. ... We need not wait to see what others do.
Mahatma Gandhi
Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.
Leo Tolstoy
The only thing people regret is that they didn't live boldly enough, that they didn't invest enough heart, didn't love enough. Nothing else really counts at all.
Ted Hughes, British Poet Laureate
I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.
Mother Teresa

On Being Wrong

"Wrongologist" Kathryn Schulz argues that we need to admit and embrace our human tendency to be wrong. It's much better than pretending that we're right all the time when we aren't.

Feeling Wrong

What does it feel like to be wrong? Usually it feels like being right. In the present moment, all of us think we're right.  And we always live in the present moment.

It's realizing that we're wrong that usually feels bad to us. So we often avoid it. But for us to be right more often, we need to learn from our mistakes... and celebrate when we realize our mistakes.

Watch one of Kathryn's TED talks on the right for more insights into how we can be better about being wrong.

Being Wrong as a Catholic

As Christians, we call one way of being wrong "sin." That is when we "miss the mark," whether by action or inaction. Our Catholic faith offers a lot to help us move beyond our mistakes and resistances. Here are just a few:
  • The Examen. This daily practice developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola looks back over the day to see how God was working and how we may or may not have been responding. Jesuits, including Pope Francis, practice it regularly. You can do it in just five minutes a day. Learn more about the Examen here.
  • Community. One reason we need the Church community is to provide support, perspective, and accountability in how we're living out our lives. This can happen in the context of faith-sharing groups or in conversations with others who hold our same beliefs.
  • Reconciliation. We have a whole sacrament built around being wrong. Beyond the great grace of receiving forgiveness, reconciliation offers a framework for reflecting on what we've gotten wrong and an act of penance for making it right. If you want to learn more about this sacrament, check out the excellent videos here, here, and here.
The miracle of your mind isn’t that you can see the world as it is. 
It’s that you can see the world as it isn’t.
Kathryn Schulz

Kathryn's TED Talk
Sower of living hearts, 
sower of tenderness, 
sower of courage, 
sower of service, 
sower of prayer, 
sower of light 
Lord, sow within us. 
 
Sower of gifts, 
sower of forgiveness, 
sower of faith, 
sower of joy
sower of life, 
sower of the Beatitudes. 
Lord, sow in the hearts of all people!

Even if we are hard as stones,
be patient with us!
Your Good News
will manage to slip
between the tight cracks
in our rock and will
grow into giant sheaves
of Good News!
Charles Singer and Albert Hari
Experience Jesus Today

Songs For the Kingdom

Music is one good way to let the Good News enter our hearts. Throughout this series we are suggesting songs from a variety of genres for reflecting on the Kingdom. Take a listen and see what speaks to your tastes and heart.

Power of One

Christian worship leader Israel Houghton sings this compelling call to action for changing the world by starting with ourselves. Shown here is a live acoustic performance of the song.
Read lyrics
Buy on iTunes
Buy on Amazon

Build Your Kingdom Here

This raucous number by Northern Ireland's Rend Collective brings to mind Mumford & Sons and the Lumineers.
Read lyrics
Buy on iTunes
Buy on Amazon

Kingdom Comes

Christian singer-songwriter Sara Groves offers this mellower song of the Kingdom -- growing in us from small beginnings and against the challenges of life.
Read lyrics | Buy on iTunes | Buy on Amazon

Action Steps

Here are some ideas for how you can live out this message in your life this week.

Questions of the Week

How might I be getting in the way of the Kingdom breaking through in the world?
What can I do this week to let Christ more fully rule my heart and life?

Being Wrong as a Catholic

Review the "On Being Wrong" section above, especially the "Being Wrong as a Catholic" subsection. What steps do you want to take this week?

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