Brothers and sisters, 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.
Although Saint Paul knew nothing of Jesus before his death and resurrection, after his conversion he spent much time with the Lord's disciples. He studied the Jewish scriptures with a new understanding; he prayed, pondered, and reconsidered the direction of his life. And he knew the Spirit of Jesus. That Spirit was not something one could describe or define. It could not be bottled and sold in the marketplace or auctioned to the highest bidder.
The Spirit was neither impulsive nor undisciplined enthusiasm. It was not a cultivation of correct attitudes and opinions. Jesus had never tried to speak the right words, expressions, or language. So Paul never deleted Jewish, Greek, or Latin words from the Christian dictionary. He could talk about men and women, sin and sinners, saints and martyrs, Jews, Greeks, and Romans without fear of being called antisemitic, racist, sexist, or homophobic. The Spirit of Jesus has no need to control minds or wash brains.
Saint Paul knew the Holy Spirit as the God who guided and directed him day by day. The Lord was with him when he moved from one Jewish neighborhood to another, and as he spoke to congregations in synagogues and crowds in the marketplace. The Spirit remained with him when he was opposed, arrested, beaten, tried, and jailed. It sat with him in the darkness of a prison, met him at the door when they released him, and then sent him on his way. The Spirit also sometimes prevented him from doing things he wanted to do, as when he wanted to go to Bithynia.
Saint Paul was never frustrated by the time he spent in Roman jails because the Spirit came to him, healed his wounds, relieved his resentments, filled his idle hours with contemplation and prayer, and revealed the truth as he wrote his epistles. In the spirit, he could be honestly angry about those "super Apostles" who followed him from town to town; and he could shamelessly mock their pretensions and dishonesty.
Saint Paul preached the Gospel and spoke the Gospel Truth because he knew the Spirit of God. It was the Voice of the One who spoke to him on the road to Damascus; it was the Voice of one who had been Crucified and raised from the dead. And when the Spirit was silent he could stop, wait, and pray until God spoke to him again.
And so, when he urges his Galatian congregation to "live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh," he is not simply saying, "Do good and avoid evil." That's common sense and needs no divine revelation. "Live by the Spirit" means listen for God’s coming to you; and listen to God when he speaks to you, both to you personally and to your church.
Saint Paul knew that God had an intention for every church and for every individual in the Church. Every baptized person should listen to God's voice for God has a particular intention for everyone.
And when Pope Francis gathers men and women, priests and lay folks from all over the world to meet in a synod, he believes that God has something specific to say to the entire Church. If we pray, listen in prayer, believe in one another, trust the integrity of every person, and listen to one another we may – as a Church – have a very good idea of where the Holy Spirit is leading us, and what we should do in the meanwhile.
We know that God directs human affairs today as he did when the Pharaoh drove the Hebrews out of Egypt, and when Cyrus sent the Jewish exiles to Jerusalem. As Christians we watch for, and often see, God’s active presence in the world. He is there in war zones of Russia and Ukraine, Gaza and Israel. He is there in the partisan feuding of Republicans and Democrats. We can hope God is speaking somehow through the pseudo-compassionate voices of those who promote abortion, euthanasia, and gender transitioning. We despise their goals, and suspect their motives, but we acknowledge their stated good intentions. Because we practice penance and confess our sins, we know how it is to be absolutely sure of something that is absolutely false.
But more importantly, we know the Holy Spirit’s presence when we worship the Lord in this church, when we care for our elderly neighbors, teach the young our faith, honor our spouses, parents, and children, and participate in public discussions. He has promised, “I am with you always, even to the end of time;” and so we have no fear about what is happening around us.
Coming at the end of the Easter Season, Pentecost celebrates our birth and rebirth as a Church. And we know the Holy Spirit is with us because we’re here today, and God is alive in our sad, beautiful, sinful world.
No comments:
Post a Comment
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.