This evening we are reading through chapters 13 through 16 of The Imitation of Christ. As you read through these meditations, think about the centrality of love. Please read through 1 Corinthians 13 and contemplate how love undergirds those relationships with others about which á Kempis writes. This week, The Gospel Coalition had two articles that also address this very issue of love in our interpersonal relationships. The first article discusses how Patience is the key characteristic of our love for others, and the second article addresses how Selfishness is the chief impediment to our love for others. Please read through these articles and see if they give you a deeper understanding of the chapters we are reading through tonight.
Ultimately the lack of patience, the embrace of arrogance, and the rejoicing in the misfortunes of others is a rejection of Christ himself. Attached is a story related by Dionysius the Areopagite (who wrote the Celestial Hierarchy we read during Advent 2013) of a vision of a holy man named Carpus whose indignation led him to pray for the destruction of two men – one who had left the church and the other who caused the man to leave the church. Within this vision, Carpus realizes that whenever we wish damnation on others, we attack Christ himself, annul his Passion, and so compel him to undergo it again. Ultimately, when we lose patience with others and curse them we bring that same curse upon ourselves. (The full text of the letter is HERE.)
Dinner at is 6. The menu is pesto fettuccini. Discussion about 6:45. Please bring a friend. Hope to see you here.
Take pains to be patient in bearing the faults and weaknesses of others, for you too have many flaws that others must put with. If you cannot make yourself as you would like to be, how can you expect to have another person entirely to your liking?
Book 1, chapter 16.