What is Right?
Miserable one that I
am! Who will deliver me from this mortal body? Romans 7:24
You know how to
interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to
interpret the present time? Why do you not judge for yourselves what is
right? Luke 12:56-57
Piety
Jesus, draw near to us
and walk with us. Help us to overcome our sadness and depression the same way
that you helped Cleopas. Give us a sense of hospitality to invite you into
our lives and to listen to what you have to say to us. Give us a sense of
urgency to do whatever you ask. Amen.
Study
Jesus told us
yesterday that our house will be divided against itself. Today, the foreboding news gets bleaker. Our own nature will also divide us and pull
us in competing directions.
St.
Paul confronts this head-on as he reflects on the desires of the body and
the desires of the soul. However, Paul parts ways with Jesus
here. Jesus reminds us that nothing we put into our bodies from outside
can defile us. However, evil thoughts – greed, envy, want – come from
inside us and cause pain. Evil also may attack us as St.
Paul acknowledges, but evil is an external force that weaves its way
inside our being.
How do we deal with
this evil? How do we get rid of it even when we alone are powerless to
stop such a strong man? Perhaps we have to
put something else in its way to start crowding out the sinful nature that
attacks us.
Open a window or a
door and let Christ in. Remember the story about the encounter with Jesus
that occurred on the road to Emmaus. Cleopas and a companion were walking to
a nearby village when they encountered a man who they did not recognize as
Jesus. After they related what happened to Jesus, they opened their ears to
hear the word.
“O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe
all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ
should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses
and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things
concerning himself. (Luke 24:26-27)
After dinner, when
Jesus had entered into their lives, they began to see things differently. “…their
eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished out of their sight.
They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he
talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?" (Luke
24:31-32)
Jesus knows that once
we experience Him, our hearts will “burn” and yearn for more. The
proverbial devil will not have a chance.
Today again, Jesus
poses the rhetorical question. He knows that he has been teaching and
preaching effectively. However, people do not “get it.” We need
constant reminders, so we do not fall back into our comfort zone and cozy up to
our old ways.
Once we let Jesus in,
we will not need external guidance. We will have all the tools we need to
judge for ourselves.
Action
Think of one of your
old habits that obscures your daily pursuit of piety, study, and
action. Can you smash one old habit to make way for Jesus? Which one? Write it down and tie the message to a
rock. Throw the rock in the river. Bye-bye!
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