Beautiful Discipline

[W]e have the mind of Christ. // 1 Corinthians 2:16

“Come back and give a proper greeting,” my parents would call out to my brothers and me. Their words were like the tug of a resistance band holding us back from play.

It is customary in our Vietnamese culture for children to fold their arms and bow to greet each person in a home upon arrival. If we folded our arms sloppily or if our bow was half-hearted or not deep enough, Mom or Dad would correct, “Khoanh tay lại.” This was certainly tedious for us as kids, and I never guessed how my parents' efforts would help me to grow steady in facing the world. 

My parents’ unwavering gazes taught us the profound value of respectfully addressing each person, especially elders our grandparents' age. 

Years ago, when I found myself living across the country from my parents, I realized I had formed the habit of slightly bowing my head out of respect as I greeted people in acknowledgement of their God-given inherent goodness and their relationship to me. As I examined my heart to see if this was a custom I wanted to keep, I realized how I relish reverence. In the same way that we learn healthy posture to be musicians and athletes, it is deeply good for us to become disciplined in doing good and giving God just praise. In the same way that I feel differently when I treat people with due reverence, it is healing and fitting for me to embrace the beauty of discipline in worshiping Almighty God and orienting my entire being toward Him, especially in the Sacred Liturgy.

In the First Reading, Saint Paul says because we do not have the spirit of the world but the Spirit of God, we do not speak by human wisdom “but with words taught by the Spirit, describing spiritual realities in spiritual terms” (1 Corinthians 2:13). 

Sister, may we allow our gracious Lord to draw us into the beauty of discipline, which is essential for authentic discipleship. May Jesus teach us the sweetness of His Way, for all authority and power belong to Him (see Luke 4:36).