WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 16, 2024
WEDNESDAY OF THE TWENTY EIGHT WEEK OF THE ORDINARY TIME B
St Hedwig, Rel., & St Margret Mary Alacoque, V. (Opt. Mem.)
Galatians 5:18-25
Luke 11:42-46
LIVING ABOVE EARTHLY PASSION AND DESIRES
The struggles of life begins when we recognize and strive to overcome the human passions and desires of the flesh. This is one of the greatest and critical battle we face in our Christian challenge and life. To overcome the hungers of the flesh, to put pride to rest, to tame the concupiscence, to maintain a spiritual balance between the flesh and the spirit.
Saint Paul in the letter to the Galatians details these sins of the flesh as follows, “immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like.”. In these, we fall in our Christian life and obligations. We battle these in everyday life and situations. They seem to be the trouble we have and recognising them very well as the battle we face and we must overcome, is a step towards attaining the spiritual growth Christ intends for us.
For to live the ideal life of Christ is described by Saint Paul as living in the Spirit of Christ. And the results of that are totally different. Paul again details the result of living in the spirit as follows : “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;” We must strive earnestly to produce and constantly be at home with the fruits of the spirit.
Our responsibility and orientation must be to please God and not man, to work for our salvation and to walk with Christ.
Jesus was stern, serious and straight with the Pharisees and lawyers for their indifference and carelessness in upholding the right attitude to the things of God. Jesus pointed out the reasons for their failure to keeping the laws and the spirit of God.
First he sternly warn them against their naivity in treating matters without serious priority. Jesus recognizes that they are weightier matters of the law. They are more important obligations in life, what society will call greater priorities. And more serious things are to be attended seriously while trivial issues are to be treated secondarily. He places as first line, the rule of love and justice. Love takes the centre stage. Anything that promotes love of God and love of neighbour must be taken seriously and given the greatest priority. Then justice to everyone must be given special attention. Issues of tithing and their likes are trivial issues that bothers on the conscience. They will take the back seat in our efforts to live the spiritual life.
Again Jesus rebuke the Pharisees for placing so much attention on themselves, their comfort, their gains, their self importance and feeding their pride. They never bother about other people or about the things of God. When we pay so much attention on ourselves, and push so much to create comfort, easy and good life around ourselves, this particular preoccupation puts us at risk in undermining the love of others, justice for other and love of God. We must rather strive to focus more on seeking the wellbeing of others as we pursue loving them and doing the will of God.
And lastly, the lawyer that confronted Jesus for being so stern, so upright, so generous with truth was rebuked for the many acts of seeking to demand so much from people, exerting so much authority and influences on people. For lording it over to people without adequately consenting to share in people’s plight, or helping them to overcome and conquer their burdens. We expect so much from people and we offer them no help whatsoever in their challenges and trials. The lawyers are very insensitive people, cruel, unreasonable and very unsympathetic.
Jesus wants us to be sympathetic to the feelings of people, to offer help to those in need, to love and support them, and to lead with Godly mind and desires. We must live above pretenses and suspicions. Our eternal destination is heaven, union with God and peace at last. We must accumulate virtues and live virtuous life in the spirit of Christ.
God our Father, teach us the things that matter most in life. May we never be misled nor focus on triviality. But may we attain the virtuous life of the spirit that brings joy, happiness, peace of mind and eternal rewards through Christ our Lord
Fr Norbert Uchuno
