Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 99

I say, then: live by the Spirit
and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.
For the flesh has desires against the Spirit,
and the Spirit against the flesh;
these are opposed to each other,
so that you may not do what you want.
But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

 

In today’s gospel we hear of Jesus setting out for Jerusalem and the reaction of the crowd around him. Some are eager to go with him though they’re not invited; and some are invited but not eager to go.  And some of the invited are ready to burn anyone who appears disinterested in Jesus and his tribe. Not much has changed in two thousand years. No one seems to have the right spirit.

Recently I had a Sunday afternoon argument with a good friend who insisted the moral law can be summed up with “What Would Jesus Do?” (By Sunday afternoon argument I mean an entertaining contest of wit that’s not terribly important to either of us.) I never liked “WWJD” when it appeared twenty years ago and I argued that it misses the point.  

Saint Paul never used such a phrase, rather he taught us to “Live by the Spirit.” What does he mean by that?

He was at least partly informed by his own Greek philosophy. Living in the Spirit assumes suspicion of the flesh and its natural desires.

             For the flesh has desires against the Spirit,
             and the Spirit against the flesh;
             these are opposed to each other,

The Greek stoic, especially, would prefer discipline over indulgence, sleeplessness over sloth, fasting over satiety, and homelessness over security. The greatest stoic teachers were peripatetic, wandering from city to city, living off the generosity of strangers and speaking to crowds about “the good life.” Saint Paul and his colleagues lived like that though they were motivated by a different cause.

The stoic seeks freedom from the constant demands of the flesh, which always want more – more food, more alcohol, more leisure, more love, more security etc. There seems no end of bodily demands and some people have completely surrendered to their cravings. They whine and pule like children in the candy aisle of a grocery store; they want it all and can’t have most of it. The stoic despises people like that; he loathes the human body and its cravings.  He prefers the life of the mind with its delight in knowledge, wisdom and aesthetic beauty.

Saint Paul knew that way of thinking but turned away from it as he learned a deeper respect for the body. He could think of nothing wiser than the cross of Jesus, and nothing more beautiful than the Sacred Wounds. The Resurrection of Jesus demonstrated God’s eternal love for the human body. Even its cravings are beautiful, provided they are governed by the Holy Spirit.

Life in the Spirit begins with a confident knowledge of Jesus Christ. More than a teacher, more than a friend, Jesus is our guide, inspiration, encouragement and healing. He sends us like soldiers into the line of fire, then heals us and sends us back. We don’t preach the gospel to promote ourselves; we are no more inclined to exploit others by our preaching than disciplined soldiers want to loot the cities they capture. We have better things to do. (Tolstoy’s War and Peace documents the collapse of Napoleon’s army when they sacked Moscow.)

The Acts of the Apostles shows us Jesus’ disciples moving from Jerusalem to Antioch and Rome under his direction, as if he were still in the flesh and speaking to them. He inspired them to preach, impelled them to heal, directed their steps, blocked them from useless adventurism, and protected them from snakebite, storms and angry mobs.

In today’s gospel we heard Jesus calling some to go with him and leaving others behind. But all were placed under obedience, just as you and I must live in obedience to his Spirit. We pray daily that his spirit will impel and guide us.

“Live by the Spirit.”