Discipline Is Not a Bad Word

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday August 21st, 2022:
​Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Hebrews 
12.5-7, 11-13

Brothers and sisters: You have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children — “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, or lose heart when you are punished by him; for the Lord disciplines the one whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he accepts.”

Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom a father does not discipline?

Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

“I forgot.” 

I know that when this was my nonchalant response as a kid, it frustrated my parents.  Forgetting is easy to do, but in maybe 80% of the cases I was “choosing” to forget as a means of distraction, or defense, or deflection. It became a way to cover up something I didn’t do that I was supposed to do: bring home a permission slip, take out the garbage, walk my younger brother home from school. As an adult, I still forget stuff. But now I blame it on age. However, another d-word can counter the forgetfulness that comes from either circumstance or choice: discipline. We can discipline ourselves to develop tools to help us be less forgetful. For me, I make lists – lots of lists! Thinking of the word discipline can conjure up negative images or thoughts.  But discipline is not a bad word! We can’t forget (see what I did there?) that there’s more than one meaning of the word. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary offers: 

discipline (verb)
transitive verb
1 : to punish or penalize for the sake of enforcing obedience and perfecting moral character
2 : to train or develop by instruction and exercise especially in self-control
3 : to bring (a group) under control or to impose order upon

I am very disciplined (less so in the summer!) when it comes to the gym. I go three days a week at 5:30 am. For some, this discipline is definitely a form of punishment. However, beginning my day this way sets my mind and heart for the day. Studies have shown that physical activity is good for the body and soul! This is the type of discipline that I think Saint Paul is calling the Hebrews to: do the hard stuff, so that you are more able to do all the good stuff God has in store. 

God’s discipline doesn’t just fall under one of the above definitions. It is at different times all of these definitions. How do we determine which one? Prayer. Prayer is another discipline that, like physical fitness, sets me in good stead for the day. It’s my spiritual gym. In this intentional time with God I can prepare more fully to see where God is working in, through, and with me as the day unfolds. But just like the gym, I haven’t  been very spiritually disciplined of late. I let the busyness of life get in the way and … I forget. Yet I know from experience, that it is precisely when I am busy that I NEED to pray. If I don’t, I forget who I am; whose I am; and what I am called to be and do. More importantly, I end up forgetting that God is not a God of black and white clear-cut answers. There’s a grey space in the middle where God meets me and we can work out what’s going on in my head and my heart. And thankfully, even when I do forget, God never forgets me.




Aurea Sadi

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