Lectionary: 477
I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace....
From his prison cell where he has been incarcerated for disturbing the peace, the Apostle urges us to practice humility, gentleness, and patience; and to bear with one another through love.
How many married men have quietly assured me it's better to live in amiable peace with their wives than to be right? They learned this lesson the hard way; often by being reminded that they had argued just the opposite a week before. Being right is not all it's cracked up to be.
Today's gospel also urges us to settle with your opponent on the way to court, before a judge settles the matter and you're unhappy with it.
We often discover the decision wasn't wrong; but the way the decision was made was entirely wrong. A simple majority resolves little. Screaming, threats, overwhelming force, even military victory: settle nothing. The American Constitution, signed in 1787, incorporated a fundamental flaw -- the issue of slavery -- which has not been resolved two hundred and thirty-three years later. The peace it created papered over a wound which festers on the body politic to this day.
We must continually ask the Holy Spirit to guide us, especially as we struggle to make decisions which cannot be forestalled: When should I speak? What should I say? How should I say it? When should I be silent? When should I just let it go? Help me to understand what is being said and who is saying it.
The party who always wins the discussion is certainly wrong, as is the party who consistently and quietly submits. It is often better to make no decision than to make the right decision wrongly.
In my lifetime, since the Second Vatican Council, I have seen the Church struggling mightily to retain its unity in the face of virulent, internal dissension. I have met Catholics who called themselves "orthodox" but had no relationship with either of the eastern and western Orthodox Churches. I have met others, on the "liberal" side, who suggested without declaring theirs was the true church of Jesus.
Some, it seems, would hurry in advance of the pillar of fire, and others would loiter far behind the column of smoke. They lose their way in the desert. If they were guided by love rather than their opinions, they would remain in communion.
We must ever strive to be:
one Body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.