Friends in Christ, today St. Paul speaks about life in the Spirit. In other places he contrasts life in the Spirit with living in the flesh. So what is his idea of living in the Spirit?
.
We are hylomorphic beings: body and soul composites. Jesus says, don’t be afraid of the one who can kill the body, but rather of the one who can cast the soul into hell.
.
So, we are body and soul, but St. Paul says, that the Christian has a 3rd aspect to himself:[i] Body, Soul, and – Life of the Spirit. The spiritual life. In his Greek, this spirit is pneuma. It is a supernatural change to the human person, which happens in baptism.
.
In chapter 3 he says, there are some people who are ‘of the flesh,’ (1 Cor 3:1) the word is sarx. They are sensual, people, dominated by their lower nature or passions: sarkikos people.
.
Then there are people whom he calls the ‘natural man,’ also translated: the ‘unspiritual man.’ The Greek word here is psychikos, from where we get the word ‘psyche.’ This is the person caught up in the ‘soulish’ realm, where is the intellect and will. The gifts of God are foolish to him. St. Paul may have in mind those Greek thinkers, who saw the mind as very superior, like proud, intellectual-types today, who are not open to God.
.
But here’s the point: whether you are a fleshly man, sarkikos – caught up in your passions – or a man of the psyche, a thinker, an intellectual, you are still not of the pneuma. You are still not of the Spirit, you are walking in the flesh.
.
Neither the fleshly man nor the intellectual man is anything, unless he receives the Holy Spirit. This ‘Spirit’ is the ‘God-consciousness’ in us, it is grace, which separates us from the ordinary, unbaptized person walking around today. It is a real difference in our person.
.
Other people, non-Christians, have sarks and psyche, but not pneuma. They live a natural life, but they have no supernatural life.
This makes more sense then, when we read St. Paul: He says, ‘The natural man does not perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God, for it is foolishness to him. ‘In the past’, he says, ‘you were carnal – fleshly. But the spiritual man judges all things, because we have received the Spirit that is from God.
.
We are body and soul just like everybody else on the planet. But the Christian is also a New Creation, because he walks in the Spirit.
[i] This subject is explored in an article by Tim Staples, Soul, body, Spirit.
Friends in the Lord, Today is Labor Day, and at a time when many suffer from unemployment and worry, let us consider today a few things about work.
.
For the world, work is about producing things, the end-result is all that matters. But for we Christians, we look at work in a much different way. Work is the means during our day, by which we offer praise to God. In fact we should praise God in all our activities: in rising, dressing, cooking, playing, and in – working.
.
Work is such a part of us, that we often identify our very self with our work. I am a mechanic. I am a nurse. I am a homemaker, we say. It’s often a large expression of ourself. For this reason, if we feel little valued at work, we are sad. If we lose our job, we take it personally. Sometimes too personally. But work is important to us.
.
Fr. Francis Fernandez says,[i] ‘we win heaven by our ordinary work.’
.
Jesus spent 30 years of his life working, and nothing is written about it. We too, with Christ living in us, offer our daily work to God, and so to that end, we should do only honest forms of work, and do it with the greatest perfection possible.
.
Human work done in this manner, no matter how humble or insignificant it may seem, helps to shape the world in a Christian way.
.
Enduring with patience those demanding customers; at the job site, returning anger with a kind word – Every act of goodness that we do and offer, especially the hard ones, makes our work holy, and brings supernatural grace to daily life.
.
The most mundane tasks offered to God, suddenly become valuable. A man cutting grass may decide that the front lawn he will offer for his son, who is going through a difficult time. And so the man cuts the front yard with perfection. Grace is brought down to his son, and to himself. And his work is not done with boredom, but with love.
.
Even the unemployed man should rise on time, and map out a day of work for himself. His main work: looking for a job. Sometimes children come to know their father best when he is out of work, because he has a little more time. All of these daily offerings are ultimately brought here, to Mass, to be offered to our Father.
For Christians, work is not just about results, because work is OUR way, by which we praise God.
[i] In Conversation with God, Vol 1, p. 344. Info in this homily is from here.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees. You cleanse the outside of cup, but inside you are full of plunder and self-indulgence.
.
Friends in Christ, The failings of the Pharisees were not just 2000 years ago, but can easily creep into our own spiritual life. We, daily Mass-goers, hope that we are taking our spiritual life seriously, I think this is why we are here.
.
But we must keep careful watch that the devil does not try to corrupt our life of devotion. For people seriously trying to do the Lord’s will: praying daily; trying to keep God’s presence during the day – for such persons, the devil does not do a frontal-attack, rather, he tries to corrupt what we already have.
.
One must really wonder what the saints would think of our modern spiritual lives today. What would they think of those who seem to be religious, but are always buying luxury items, living in pleasure – a life of ease? Can we really say that we have a serious spiritual life, if vast amounts of our day are spent being entertained?
.
Of course leisure is part of a balanced life; but would not St. Philomena laugh at a person who prays the Rosary, goes to daily Mass, then watches 5 hours of tv a day and parties every night?
.
We can’t claim to have a serious spiritual life if we waste away our time in frivolous activity. There must be consistency, there must be what we call ‘unity of life.’ We can’t do our prayers and devotions in the morning, then be an unbearable complainer that our food is not just the way we like it at the restaurant.
.
If we are followers of Christ, simplicity, an element of sacrifice, must be part of life. Our piety cannot simply be reduced to familiarity with sacred things, or reading prayers – but some sacrificial acts, sometimes saying ‘no’ to luxuries, being satisfied with what we have, not buying the latest fashion all the time.
If our life is not unified, so that it ALL looks like that of a Christian disciple, we will end up being a Pharisee.
Friends in Christ, many today believe what is called, ‘the prosperity gospel.’ This is the ‘health and wealth gospel preached by mega-churches around the country. The most well-known is Joel Osteen at his mega-church in Houston. He says: ‘you should trust that God will give you the house that you desire and the job that you deserve, Christianity will make you prosperous!’
.
Polls show that 61 percent of Christians think that God wants them to be rich, and that if you give your money to God, God will bless you with more money.
This prosperity gospel is a belief of millions of so-called Christians. They teach that the more a person has faith, the more they will have success and material blessings. These ideas run through Pentecostal and evangelical churches.
.
This idea originated with Oral Roberts who says: “expect miracles” and be confident that God will reward you materially and financially.
Assemblies of God churches export this idea to poor areas of the world; poor people find it attractive.
.
So, is this idea in the bible? Actually, it is. It is in the Old Testament. Before Christ, there was the idea that if you are faithful to God, God will bless you with many sheep, and children, and property.
But people also wondered – because it seemed that sometimes wicked people got pretty rich. The Book of Job wonders about this too. Job tries to be righteous, but everything seems to go wrong for him. The Psalmist often cries out, ‘Why do the evil people prosper?!’
Before Christ, people thought that faithfulness to God means that everything will go your way in life.
Our Lord, however, shows us that material prosperity, perfect health, and no problems – is not the promise of the kingdom of heaven. Tell the Christian man who is dying of cancer, that he will have great health if he follows Christ – Tell the devout Christian woman who loves the Lord, whose home has been destroyed by a hurricane, that nothing bad will ever happen to her –
.
Jesus teaches us that in this life, the Christian must sometimes carry the cross, this is how he becomes a real Christian. ‘Unless you take up your cross, you cannot be my disciple. ‘Blessed are the poor, the kingdom of heaven is theirs. ‘Sell what you have and follow me, and you will have riches in heaven. This is the Gospel.
.
Jesus calls us to RENOUNCE riches, and by a simpler life, set our heart on the riches of heaven.
Many protestant preachers who claim to follow Christ, have actually returned to the dead letter of the Old Testament. ‘Woe to you preachers says the Lord. You have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves have not entered, and you have prevented others from entering.
‘How hard it is for the rich, to enter the kingdom of heaven.’
Friends in Christ, in these recent weeks, the first reading has been from the prophet Ezekiel. Perhaps we can ask tonight, who is Ezekiel and what is he writing about?
Ezekiel is one of the major prophets, and lived around 600BC. His writing emphasizes the majesty and glory of God, and he feels strongly about the proper worship and honor that should be given to God. The main theme of Ezekiel is the need for constant inner conversion of each person.
.
The first part of the book is a description of his call as a prophet, and the visions he sees. Then he begins his mission. As a messenger of God, he warns Israel and Jerusalem. Israel is compared to a harlot. The chosen people of God whom the Lord made his bride, have gone whoring after false gods and the nations; because of their sins, Ezekiel foretells that destruction will come to Jerusalem for their unfaithfulness.
.
He is a man of signs, and the death of his own wife is a sign to the people, of the coming destruction of Jerusalem. In the last 15 chapters, Ezekiel gives hope to Israel. Even though destruction of Jerusalem will come as punishment for their unfaithfulness, he gives assurance and hope, that God will save a remnant of the people; a new temple will be rebuilt, and a new community of happiness established.
.
His prophecies are dead on. He accurately predicts all these things. This alone is amazing. But what is more profound in the Book of Ezekiel, is that while he is predicting events a hundred years later, he is really speaking about something much greater. He speaks of a time when God will bring our bones together, and put flesh back on them – he is predicting the Resurrection of the Body at the end of the world. He speaks also, about a marvelous new Temple. The New Temple, which will be surpass all the others, the Heavenly Temple, the goal and the happiness of all people; fulfillment of mankind will be in Christ: the New Temple.
.
Ezekiel’s exact prophecy is repeated in the Book of Revelation: ‘And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal coming forth from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the city street, on both sides of the river, was the Tree of Life, bearing twelve fruits, and the leaves for the healing of the nations.
The Temple of God’s glory in heaven, is our goal, and Ezekiel predicted it all, two thousand, six hundred years ago.
Friends in Christ, in the first reading today we see that God has asked the prophet Jeremiah to buy a linen loincloth, put it on, and then hide it in a crevice in some rocks. And after a long time has passed, he goes to get it and finds that it is rotted away.
.
Jeremiah performed many symbolic actions at the Lord’s request, to prophecy to the people the Lord’s displeasure with them, because their lives had become focused on false gods. The linen loincloth recalls the linen cloth worn by the priests in the temple.[i] God had chosen Israel to be his priestly people. Just as that garment fitted Jeremiah exactly, literally, it ‘clung to his loins’ – God had wanted the Israelite people to be united to him, to ‘cling to him.’ This Hebrew word, for clinging to, is found often in the Book of Deuteronomy. It means fidelity to God. This ‘cleaving’ to God comes about through Faith.
.
Faith means putting our entire hope in the Lord, not in things, which are the false gods of our life. For many it is not so obvious that putting faith in God will have a ‘payoff’ for them. They think only in the short term. But fidelity to the Lord, living one’s life for Christ leads to good character, to being a virtuous person and to heaven; but this all takes time, and trust.
.
In this regard, Jesus says that the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed which is so tiny – yet it grows in to a very large tree. A virtuous life is like that. Saying ‘no’ to the easy way, and choosing the way of virtue; slowly and imperceptively, this grows into the good character of a fulfilled person.
.
Just like yeast that is hidden in dough, a life, faithful to Christ will grow and raise the dough – but slowly and gradually.
The Way of Jesus is not always easy, but it leads to a fulfilled life, and heaven.
.
[i] See Navarre Bible under this passage of Jeremiah
Friends in Christ, today, Jesus is asked for more proof of who he is. ‘We wish to see a sign from you,’ they said. Our Lord worked thousands of cures, raised at least two people from the dead, walked on water, multiplied loaves and fishes, and turned water into wine – all these signs, yet those who have hardened their heart to the gospel demand more signs. Always more signs. They had no Faith.
.
The Lord says, an evil generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except? Except the sign of Jonah. Our Lord is saying, ‘you’ve seen many, many signs already, yet the most glorious miracle you will also reject. What is the most glorious miracle? The resurrection.
.
‘As Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth.’ The greatest miracle of Christ is the resurrection, foretold in figure, by Jonah. His resurrection did two things: First, it proved that he is God, for only God can raise himself form the dead. And second, it shows us our own destiny. Follow me in this short life, Jesus says, and you too will rise from the dead, in a beautiful and glorified body. Not as some kind of floating disembodied soul, but in the resurrected body.
.
This is the greatest hope of Christians. The Church teaches right in the Catechism, that the earth will be totally renewed in the next world. This is why we call heaven, Paradise.
.
Our glorified body will have agility – this means that if we wish to go to another part of that great Paradise, our will, will bring us there.
Our Body will be youthful no doubt – Present defects in our body, or weakness from age will be gone in that world. I know a young man with MS; I said, ‘Well, you won’t have MS in the resurrection!’ No defects will remain.
And best of all, we will be in the Eternal Presence of God and Mary and the saints.
.
What will time be, in heaven? If we think of lovers, lost in their gaze at the other; seeing the time they often say something like: ‘Where’d the time go?!
Happiness makes time fly. It will be something like this in heaven.
Friends in Christ, today Our Lord gives us these words of reassurance: Take my yoke upon you…for my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” I once asked some school kids, what does Jesus mean by a ‘yoke.’ They thought it had to do with an egg yoke! Well, I think many people aren’t familiar with a yoke, which is that wooden beam across the backs of oxen to pull a plow in the old days. It’s heavy, and the ox has to pull with great force all that is attached to that yoke. It’s a burden.
.
But Jesus says, that we should not be afraid of taking HIS yoke upon ourselves, because it is light and easy to bear. We sometimes hear people say, ‘You Catholics have so many rules and laws!’ Well, this is a little silly: the rules are not many: Pray, go to Sunday Mass, go to Confession, and ‘Love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. Those are not many rules!
.
I looked up today what Thomas Aquinas has to say about this Gospel passage in the Summa Theologica. He says that Christ’s burden is light in the New Law; it is much lighter and easier than the Old Law. The Old Testament Law had many rules and ceremonies, almost all of which were outward practices, the New Law of Christ has a few outward ceremonies, but is primarily an interior law. The Old Law was about external practices, but the New Law calls us to difficult things on the inside. Not only are we not to kill, we are not to have angry thoughts at our neighbor. Not only are we not to commit adultery, we are not to lust in our heart.
.
As St. Thomas says, this interior law is very difficult for a person who is not virtuous. If a person has not developed the virtue, the habit, of chastity – good habits of purity, well, then being chaste is very difficult, the law is burdensome.
.
If a person has not trained himself to be patient with others, if he has not acquired this virtue of patience, he will find it very difficult to keep from anger when provoked. But for the virtuous person, who has practiced and developed a habit of patience – for him the Law of Christ is easy.
.
So Our Lord is telling us, that if we follow his path and cooperate with grace, developing our virtues, we will find that his yoke is easy and his burden light.
Friends in Christ, during the French Revolution, many were killed for their faith. One goal of the leaders of the French Revolution, was to drive God out of society. The modern era had arrived: it was time for MAN to create the perfect world, and God and religion and Christ were in the way. As we know, thousands of priests, and nuns, and devout people were slaughtered in the name of progress. Over 16,000 died by the guillotine.
.
In all of this there was a remarkable 22 year old young woman, named Catherine Doublot (of Besancon), who continued to believe that the love of God would never leave the world. Even a world full of hate. In her home were found over a dozen images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was upon these images of God’s love for a sad, and confused world – it was upon these images that Catherine would often ponder and pray.
.
The authorities discovered that she had these pictures of the Sacred Heart, and for this she was taken away to die at the guillotine; but she nevertheless went, still believing in the love of Jesus for mankind.
.
Today is the Feast of the Sacred Heart. The Sacred Heart – displaying this painful, wounded, physical heart of Christ, which aches for his children – it is a representation of His divine love for humanity, and the flame shows us the power of divine love. Devotion to the Sacred Heart is very ancient, going back a thousand years. It arose in the Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries. Love of the Sacred Heart was already known to St. Gertrude, St. Mechtilde, and St. Bernard. This devotion was practiced by many in the various religious orders, and the Jesuits often used the image of the Sacred Heart, and hung it in their rooms.
.
Nevertheless, it remained a private devotion until St. Margaret Mary Alacoque came along. Jesus appeared to her and made known his burning desire to be loved by all people; he gave us the 1st Friday Devotions, and so came about the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. After many requests for many years, in 1856, the Church established the Feast of the Sacred Heart. Why? So that we would know the burning love of Christ for us.
.
‘God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.
Friends in Christ, after the death of Solomon, the kingdom of Israel split in two: the southern portion was called Judah, and the Northern part was called Israel. For many years, these kingdoms were ruled by corrupt kings, and after all the Lord God had done for the people they began to follow the ways of the inhabitants there, leading immoral lives and committing idolatry.
.
It sounds a lot like our world today: we Christians, living in really, a pagan world – working, going to school, associating with such a world – we are supposed to be lights for the world, we influencing others for the good – but it’s easy today to be very influenced by the bad example we see around us. That is what happened to the people then. What did God do? He allowed them to find out where this leads – what kind of life you get when you leave the True God. Their whole world came apart, disintegrated; and they were overrun by their enemies, something they never thought could happen. How could this happen to the People of God then, and how can such a thing happen to a Christian in today’s world?
.
The saints speak of one of the deadliest faults in the spiritual life, which is called Self Deceit. In a hundred ways, we deceive ourselves or allow ourselves to be deceived, and in this way, the devil pulls us away from God. It is so important to be honest with ourselves. In our daily meditation time we should be looking honestly at ourselves before God. Facing the truth of who we are. Jesus says, we look at the speck in our brother’s eye, yet we do not see this giant log stuck in our own eye. We can easily be blind to our own defects.
.
Father Faber in one of his conferences speaks of how even so-called pious people can be totally deceived. We mix our devotions so easily with worldliness. We have our many prayers, and yet we must have many clothes and comforts. We give alms yes; but then we indulge ourselves in luxuries. We have the Holy Sacraments, and yet we eat and drink to excess. Works of mercy one day, conniving and manipulation of others the next. – it is so easy to deceive ourselves, and allow the world to take us over, even while keeping an external veneer of piety.
.
We also deceive ourselves by confusing desires with facts. For example, we may read a wonderful book by a saint about the virtue of patience; we ponder it in the chapel, we experience sweet feelings of the wisdom of what the saint is saying about patience. ‘Ahh, how beautiful is the spiritual life,’ we think. We think we are holy. Then we go home and at the least annoyance unload on our spouse with complaints and whining. We think we are so ‘spiritual,’ but thinking does not make it so.
.
The Northern tribes of Israel lived lives of self-deceit, until it was too late. This should be a sign to us, to be honest with ourselves before God in our life.
