The time is always right, to do what is right.
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
~ from Joshua 1
Oh beloved, it is true.
There is a deeply powerful tool that has been given to us. We use it, nearly without a thought… That is, until we cannot figure out what to say. Language is the “breathing” of the mind. We do it unconsciously, until there is a blockage, or reminder of limitation.
Language is so powerful…
This fool of a writer has lived on multiple continents, and had to learn to dabble in German, English, Bahasa Indonesia, and Mandarin. Further, I had cursory studies in both Latin and Greek in College. One of the most powerful realities I have learned, though, is not vocabulary, nor syntax. It is, rather, the fact that all languages are designed to express what is going on in the inside of a person, IF we are willing to listen.
In Mandarin, 小心 (Xiǎoxīn, small heart) is caution (as in: warning). Bahasa Indonesia has a similar construction for caution (hati hati). In English, too, we talk about ‘shrinking’ away from something in fear. Hopefully, what can be seen is an idea that crosses cultures. When we are afraid, the wind goes out of our sails. When we are afraid, we begin to lose the will to even try to do the right thing.
Quite often, however, a great way to learn the meaning of a word, is by clearly understanding its opposite. Courage then, is a candidate for the opposite of fear-based caution. The word for courage comes from a number of places, but one root is the French root, “cœur.” And cœur =heart, in English. So, when we encourage someone, we are endeavoring to actually fill their hearts. In Mandarin, courage is: 勇气 (Yǒngqì, brave wind).
Put it together. Courage is the opposite of a small heart. Courage is a heart full. When we en-cœur-age, we take their small hearts and fill them up. This is really something when we see it. Courage is not holding on. The whole linguistic sense of “Courage,” whether Chinese or Latin root, is a bursting forth from what is already inside of us… a wind, a filling, a giving forth.
What does this mean?
Everything.
Can we see it?
This is the heart of Christ Jesus. Through the centuries, the Church has spoken of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This is not only just a compassionate “nice to have” in theology. No, the infinite cœur-age of our King is a bursting forth, an overflow of the very Inner Man of the very G_d of the universe.
The new heart of a believer beats with the same infilling and indwelling. He came in, and removed our former hearts of stone, and replaced them with an organ that now beats to His rhythm. And this heart has everything needed to do all the impossible things G_d has put into our path on the way Home.
Caring
Compassion
Competence
Confidence
Hope
Strength
Joy
Love
And… an overwhelming confidence that all is well, in Him.
So, are you feeling like maybe life is just a little too hard? Are you thinking you should shrink back? This may actually be good news for you. Because, yes, life is not just hard – it is impossible. Impossible, that is, unless you have a heart big enough to overcome the world.
Tonight is your night beloved. Time for you to give away your heart. It is shrinking quickly. Let Him replace it with His Own Sacred Heart, that you and many others might truly Live!
Everyone who loves God shows himself patient and steadfast in times of suffering. Whoever bears them bravely becomes strong and obedient to God, and whoever enters the path of following the will of God conquers his natural weakness. On the other hand, whoever does not recognize his own powerlessness is proud and not inclined to submit himself to the will of the Lord. Whoever does not submit to it and hopes only in his own power does not receive the power and help of God and, not having been strengthened in spirit, cannot become patient. But whoever does not endure misfortune and afflictions has not faith, and whoever does not have faith, does not love God.
~St. Alexis of Senaki
