20211022 ONGOING INTERNAL BATTLE OF A MATURING CHRISTIAN
22 October, 2021, Friday, 29th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading | Romans 7:18-25 © |
Every time I want to do good it is something evil that comes to hand
I know of nothing good living in me – living, that is, in my unspiritual self – for though the will to do what is good is in me, the performance is not, with the result that instead of doing the good things I want to do, I carry out the sinful things I do not want. When I act against my will, then, it is not my true self doing it, but sin which lives in me.
In fact, this seems to be the rule, that every single time I want to do good it is something evil that comes to hand. In my inmost self I dearly love God’s Law, but I can see that my body follows a different law that battles against the law which my reason dictates. This is what makes me a prisoner of that law of sin which lives inside my body.
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body doomed to death?
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 118(119):66,68,76-77,93-94 © |
Lord, teach me your statutes.
Teach me discernment and knowledge
for I trust in your commands.
You are good and your deeds are good;
teach me your statutes.
Lord, teach me your statutes.
Let your love be ready to console me
by your promise to your servant.
Let your love come and I shall live
for your law is my delight.
Lord, teach me your statutes.
I will never forget your precepts
for with them you give me life.
Save me, for I am yours
since I seek your precepts.
Lord, teach me your statutes.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps94:8 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt11:25 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 12:54-59 © |
Do you not know how to interpret these times?
Jesus said to the crowds: ‘When you see a cloud looming up in the west you say at once that rain is coming, and so it does. And when the wind is from the south you say it will be hot, and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the face of the earth and the sky. How is it you do not know how to interpret these times?
‘Why not judge for yourselves what is right? For example: when you go to court with your opponent, try to settle with him on the way, or he may drag you before the judge and the judge hand you over to the bailiff and the bailiff have you thrown into prison. I tell you, you will not get out till you have paid the very last penny.’
ONGOING INTERNAL BATTLE OF A MATURING CHRISTIAN
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Rom 7:18-25; Ps 119:66,68,76-77,93-94; Lk 12:54-59]
In chapter 6 of Romans which we read the last two days, St Paul spoke so triumphantly that once baptized, we are a new creation and we are no longer slaves of the laws and slaves of righteousness. Yet, it seems strange that in chapter 7, he spoke of his personal struggles in wanting to obey God’s law and yet unable to do it. “In my inmost self I dearly love God’s Law, but I can see that my body follows a different law that battles against the law which my reason dictates. This is what makes me a prisoner of that law of sin which lives inside my body.” This means that he had not totally put sin to death in his body.
His candid sharing of his struggles puts scripture scholars in a conundrum as to whether St Paul was speaking about himself or someone before conversion, or whether he was speaking about himself, or a Christian after conversion. If before conversion, then Chapter 6 of Romans is tenable. But if after conversion, there seems to be a contradiction that even after baptism, a Christian still remains in sin. Yet the tenses do not seem like he was speaking before conversion. He appears to be speaking of the present tension in his life. “I know of nothing good living in me – living, that is, in my unspiritual self – for though the will to do what is good is in me, the performance is not, with the result that instead of doing the good things I want to do, I carry out the sinful things I do not want. When I act against my will, then, it is not my true self doing it, but sin which lives in me.”
Yet, should we be surprised at St Paul’s struggles? St Paul is telling of his experience which is the reality of the human situation. Even for us who are baptized, we all face the same struggles every day. Baptism might bring about our justification and sanctification. But holiness in life, regardless how radical our encounter with God may have been, is an ongoing process. The truth is that even though our sins are forgiven in Christ, the Church makes it clear that the will, wounded by original sin, remains disorientated and we need to bring the will under control through the grace of God. Having been justified and sanctified, we must now, with the grace of God, continue to combat against the temptation of the Evil One and the weakness of the flesh. This is what St Paul meant when he said twice, that if we act against our will, it is because sin lives in us. This is not sin per se but the tendency to sin because of the weakness of the flesh and the disorientation of the will. Even Jesus told His disciples, “Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mt 26:41)
This is because, as St Paul said, knowing what the Law is does not give us the capacity to do it. Indeed, the Law is good, as St Paul noted. Even though we are no longer slaves to the Law, yet the law remains a guide to us as to how we should live in accordance to the will of God. He said, “What then should we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.'” (Rom 7:7) “So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good.” (Rom 7:12) The law cannot ensure that we are holy, although good. It has no power to make us holy. Just knowing the law, the right thing to do, does not mean we can do it. This is why those who sought perfection through the law found no justification. Nevertheless, the law provides us moral guidance but one cannot look to it for its saving power. Knowledge of the law does not empower us to do it. The moral code can provide us guidance but it is incapable of empowering us. Relying on our human strength to obey the law also fails us. Just because we will to obey does not mean we can obey. We might discipline ourselves and obey some of the time, but not every time. There will be moments when the human flesh is weak and we fall into temptation. If the law can change us, there would be no need of prisons.
So what is it that can deliver us from the powerlessness of the law? St Paul says, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body doomed to death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” St Paul was in despair. We are saved not by knowledge of the law or the cause of our incapacity to do the right thing. What we need is not knowledge alone, but we need a personal relationship with the Lord. When our will is weak, love will empower us to do what we cannot do ourselves. When we are driven by love, we will be able to do what love commands.
This is why Chapter 7 of Romans must be complemented by Chapter 8 of Romans when St Paul speaks about the Holy Spirit. It is in Romans 8 that the Holy Spirit is mentioned. St Paul says, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” (Rom 8:26) It is the Spirit of love and wisdom that will enable us to love God. St Paul also wrote, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28) The mark of a mature Christian is one in whom the Holy Spirit dwells. “For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law – indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Rom 8:7-10)
This explains why Catholics who do not have a full consciousness of the Holy Spirit in spite of their baptism, live under the law. They are not free and they live no better than the Jews, in fear of breaking the laws. They obey the commandments and the Church laws, unwillingly, reluctantly and slavishly. Catholics, no less the Jews during the time of Jesus, can also become legalistic, over-scrupulous in examining themselves constantly which laws they have broken, even laws that are not necessarily immoral, such as Church disciplines of fasting and abstinence on Friday or before receiving Holy Communion. Such Church disciplines are aids to help weak Catholics to fulfil the minimal guidelines to keep them in their relationship with God. But it is a means, not the ends in themselves. So long as we rely on the law, we have not come to terms with our human incapacity.
This is why the Church also provides us the means to be reconciled with God when we sin. In the gospel Jesus said, “when you go to court with your opponent, try to settle with him on the way, or he may drag you before the judge and the judge hand your over to the bailiff and the bailiff have you thrown into prison. I tell you, you will not get out till you have paid the very last penny.” Instead of waiting to face judgment, we need to turn to the Lord for forgiveness. Through the grace of the sacrament of reconciliation, our sins are forgiven and once again, our relationship with God is re-established. With the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts, we are empowered to live out our sonship. But this does not mean that we will not give in to temptation at times. That is why we constantly need God’s forgiveness in the sacrament of reconciliation. By acknowledging our weakness as St Paul openly did, we confess our faith in Christ who saves us and empowers us. We no longer rely on ourselves but on Him alone. As we come before the Lord in shame for our sins, instead of hiding it to protect our pride, we are set free from our fears, our shame and the guilt that oppresses us.
So let us be wise. The Lord exhorts us to read the signs of the times correctly. To attain the freedom of the Spirit as St Paul wrote in Romans 6, we must turn to Jesus who gives us His Spirit of sonship. With the gift of the Holy Spirit, we can discern the signs of the Evil One or those moments when we are exposed to the weakness of our flesh and so avoid them.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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