Living in the Spirit or Enslaved to the Flesh? By Colleen O’Sullivan
If you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law… Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit. (Galatians 5:18, 24-25)
The Lord said: "Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. These you should have done, without overlooking the others. (Luke 11:42)
Piety
As St. Ignatius of Antioch prayed to be transformed in martyrdom, so we pray to be transformed each day by living in your Spirit.
Study
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is speaking to a particular group of Pharisees, who, he says, observe the letter of the law, but demonstrate no knowledge of the love of God. The expectations they lay on the backs of God’s people are onerous and, at the same time, these religious leaders expect to be looked up to and honored. This is not God’s way. God loves us and seeks to make our burdens lighter, not more difficult. Jesus puts the love of God before the letter of the law here and in many other places throughout the Gospels.
Today the apostle Paul writes to the Galatians about the difference between living in the Spirit and having our actions flow forth from that loving relationship and being enslaved to the passions and desires of our flesh. No one could legislate the qualities that Paul says are the fruits of the Spirit; they flow from our hearts out of our relationship with God’s loving Spirit.
The world will be a kinder, gentler place by far if more of us abide in the Spirit. Instead, ever-increasing numbers of people are leaving churches, declaring themselves non-believers or even atheists. And even at our best, we Christians aren’t perfect, so we sometimes find ourselves at the mercy of our more earthly, fleshly desires.
Today we remember a first-century saint, St. Ignatius of Antioch. He was born after Jesus died, but while a few of the apostles may still have been alive. St. Ignatius was the third bishop of Antioch, in Syria. He was seized and held as a prisoner for his faith during the persecution of the Roman Emperor Trajan. He was forced to march to Rome, where the fate that awaited him was being thrown to the lions in the Colosseum. That’s a long way to march as a prisoner, and I can’t imagine what thoughts would go through a person’s mind under those circumstances. On that death march, St. Ignatius, nevertheless, managed to write seven letters to various church communities and individuals. Love, kindness, and generosity, demonstrated by the very act of putting pen to paper and writing to his friends in Christ. Faithfulness to the Lord as seen in this one line from his Letter to the Romans: “I am the wheat of God, and let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of Christ.”
|
Works of the Flesh
|
|
Immorality
|
|
Impurity
|
|
Licentiousness
|
|
Idolatry
|
|
Sorcery
|
|
Hatreds
|
|
Rivalry
|
|
Jealousy
|
|
Outbursts
of Fury
|
|
Dissensions
|
|
Acts of
Selfishness
|
|
Occasions
of Envy
|
|
Drinking
Bouts
|
|
Orgies
|
|
Fruits of
the Spirit
|
|
Joy
|
|
Peace
|
|
Patience
|
|
Kindness
|
|
Generosity
|
|
Faithfulness
|
|
Gentleness
|
|
Self-control
|
Today we remember a first-century saint, St. Ignatius of Antioch. He was born after Jesus died, but while a few of the apostles may still have been alive. St. Ignatius was the third bishop of Antioch, in Syria. He was seized and held as a prisoner for his faith during the persecution of the Roman Emperor Trajan. He was forced to march to Rome, where the fate that awaited him was being thrown to the lions in the Colosseum. That’s a long way to march as a prisoner, and I can’t imagine what thoughts would go through a person’s mind under those circumstances. On that death march, St. Ignatius, nevertheless, managed to write seven letters to various church communities and individuals. Love, kindness, and generosity, demonstrated by the very act of putting pen to paper and writing to his friends in Christ. Faithfulness to the Lord as seen in this one line from his Letter to the Romans: “I am the wheat of God, and let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of Christ.”
Action
The world would be a far better place if there were more people like St. Ignatius of Antioch, filled with thoughts of God and our brothers and sisters. When you look over St. Paul’s lists, where do you see yourself?
No comments:
Post a Comment