Friday, November 04,
2016
“Their minds are occupied with earthly things.” (Philippians 3:19) 1st reading for Friday of the 31st Week in
Ordinary Time.
As we go about our days, we are
naturally occupied with practical ordinary things: getting the laundry done,
our to-do lists at work, various studies at school, plans for the weekend,
shopping, taking care of children, and so on. But these are not the “earthly”
things that Paul is talking about when he writes to the Philippians. Paul is
referring to what becomes important to us when we are in the grips of the 7
deadly sins. He mentions gluttony specifically: “Their God is in their stomach; their glory is in their “shame.”
I find the use of the word “shame”
ironic. What Paul sees as “shame,” that is, the stuff of sin, those lost in sin
do not necessarily regard as something shameful in our sense of the word. The
problem is that once one is given over to sin, the voice of conscience is
weakened or even blotted out by the power of desire, the attraction of the sin,
or even what those in 12-step programs call “the addict.”
What I’m getting at is this: the
sin that we are given over to blinds and confuses our minds to the point where
we cannot think clearly about the particular moral issue involved. And if one
is living life without any reference to God, the scope of this blindness and
confusion is overwhelming.
Is there any remedy to this?
With God’s grace, of course there is. It involves realizing that we are
children of God, that we have a Savior who is risen from the dead and who promises
to lead us to eternal life. This is our nature. This is the reality
of very single man and woman whether they realize it or not. And if we are
troubled by any particular vice, weakness or sin, we can strengthen ourselves
by directing our thinking and our attention to one simply phrase used by Paul
in this passage: Our citizenship is in
heaven.
In the monastery we sing an
antiphon during the Easter season which reminds us to recall our destiny: “since you have been raised to life with
Christ, seek the things that are above.” In all matters, recall who you are
(a child of God); recall that your God’s mercy is directed towards your
ultimate salvation, recall the many teachings you have heard which give you
hope and strength and courage. Turn your back on the “earthly things” even
while you are doing the laundry, making plans for the weekend or taking care of
the children.
Again, Remember who you are, remember
your ultimate destiny and remember that you are not alone in your progress
towards your destiny. And all will be well.
God bless you. Have a nice
weekend.
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