Good News Reflection
Monday of the 30th Week of Ordinary Time
October 25, 2010
Today's Saints: Crispin and Crispinian
Pray for wage earners:
http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/Crispin.htm
Today's Readings:
Eph 4:32--5:8
Ps 1:1-4, 6
Luke 13:10-17
http://www.usccb.org/nab/102510.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_10_25.mp3
Living as true children of God
St. Paul says in today's first reading that immorality, impurity, greed, obscenity, and lewd talk are all forms of idolatry. Why? Idolatry means worshipping something other than God. It's obvious why immoral decisions and greed push Jesus out of his rightful place as Lord of our lives, but how is telling a dirty joke or using foul language an act of idolatry?
Paul's list of sins are examples of what is not found in God's nature. We're supposed to imitate Jesus, but these behaviors replace God with unGodly priorities and preferences. God is supposed to be our Father. His nature – our inheritance – should always be our only priority, so that we remain close to him, open to his love and his miracles.
Today's responsorial psalm shows us how to live as the inheritors of God's nature. First we make the decision to avoid sin by rejecting the ways of the wicked. That means staying away from the influences of the insolent and rebellious. At the same time, we decide to prefer God's ways, even if we don't understand why all of his methods and sacrifices and commandments are good. And because we want to understand, we meditate, ponder and study God's ways ALL the time, not half-heartedly and not only when it's convenient.
As our prayer life improves, we receive refreshing nourishment and empowerment from the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This helps us grow well spiritually, and the Spirit's presence within us does not wither nor fade during hard times. Our lives produce many good fruits, i.e., we are successful in every circumstance that honors the Father.
But look at what happens when we let immorality of any sort become our priority or preference.
First, we accept obscenity and suggestive talk as if it's okay and normal. That makes us feel comfortable around the insolent and rebellious, and soon we relax spiritually. We begin to feel drawn to them and their ways. This feels "good", so we succumb to sin and forget to pray, but feeling guilty about it, we find excuses and distractions that keep us from praying, because we prefer to not think about God's disapproval.
In this condition, we soak up the ways of the world, always thirsty for satisfaction but never fully finding it. This unquenchable thirst becomes a desperate addiction recycling the cravings of the flesh. Rooted in these cravings, we lose touch with the loving presence of God, and his absence reinforces the "need" for the addiction.
The fruit of this is destruction. Our malnourished faith withers and fades during hardships. Disconnected from God, we make more and more mistakes and enter so deeply into darkness that our unhappiness increases, thereby increasing the search to find satisfaction in sin – and we spiral downward into hell.
No wonder the wrath of God comes upon the disobedient. He loves us so much that he utterly hates what idolatry does to us.
© 2010 by Terry A. Modica
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