Peace to you!
The readings this weekend pique our awareness of tensions that arise while we strive to serve God above all. Fr. Ron Rolheiser, a theologian and spiritual writer, noted in an article for Catholic Northwest Progress that Christians should set themselves apart from the world. But setting ourselves apart does not come without innate tensions. “On the one hand, something in us wants to be different, to stand out, to be noticed as separate and show itself to be unique and independent. At the same time however, we have an equally strong, contradictory impulse that yearns for unity, community, family and intimacy, connection, solidarity and oneness with others and the world.”
Fr. Ron observes that our baptism is at the core of this tension because it is meant to set us apart from the world while drawing us deeply into a family of faith, the Body of Christ. It is in membership with the Body of Christ where we are called to be humble and be part of something much larger and greater than ourselves. Our true fulfillment, identity and happiness does not consist in our own self-determined reality. Rather, it consists in always belonging to and actively being part of the Church that Jesus regards as his very self (remember how he spoke to Paul in regards to his persecution of the Church: Why do you persecute me?).
Interesting dynamic and tension! No less marvelous than the balance of the solar system in which we live or the universe for that matter! But that’s how God does things! This could be the foundation of the Benedictine motto: All things in Moderation!
This weekend’s readings and Gospel help us understand that each of us has been called by God in a special way. God has a plan for each of us and every other person in the world that is unique. This plan includes some vocation and purpose for each one that only they can accomplish. Yet it can only be rightly and fully accomplished in the context of relationship with God and the people we are with day by day.
Jesus calls us out of the world to be with him, trust him and depend entirely on him. God also calls men and women to follow him in a special vocation within the Church to be outstanding witnesses of the true presence of God’s power working in the world. Jesus himself had to fast, pray, and forgive his enemies and struggle to be faithful when everyone else fled away. There is a cost to discipleship for everyone. St. Ignatius of Antioch died as food for wild beasts and he prayed for the gift of grace to do it. A young postulant in a monastery makes a vow of silence and strict enclosure to be separated from the world in a radical way—dead to the world. A priest and a professed religious make a promise of celibacy and an exclusive commitment to serve God alone. A married couple makes an exclusive commitment to each other and must balance the duties of job, marriage and raising a Catholic family in a world that is sometimes too busy and disconnected from morality. We all feel the tensions of “worldly stuff” that can cause us to feel divided or distracted from our highest goal. Yet we also feel the surge of a dynamic power through our communion which, ultimately rests upon the infinite love and mercy of God! May God strengthen you in your resolve to follow him more closely! +++ Fr. Peter