Reflection on Today's Readings, Monday of 30th Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1, 2021
Texts: Rom. 8:12-17; Ps. 68:2 and 4.6-7ab.20-21; Luke13:10-17
St. Paul once again tells us the danger in living according to the flesh. He says, "for if you live according to the flesh you will die". Death is the reward for living according to the flesh. It is the nature of the flesh to be inclined to the things of this world. We live according to the flesh when we take the things of this world not as means to attain eternal life but as ends themselves. In other words, those who live according to the flesh make the things of this world priority of life and goal of human existence. The things of this world are perishable and as such whoever attaches his/herself to them perish along with them. He tells us that we owe the flesh nothing and that living according to the flesh makes us debtors to death. The death, here, is the privation of eternal life. He puts it thus: "we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh".
St. Paul encourages us to live by the Spirit. He says, "if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live." What are the deeds of the body? In his letter to the Galatians, he answers the question thus: "Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" (5:19-21).
We put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit when we are renewed in the knowledge of God in Christ. In his letter to the Colossians he says, "Put to death, therefore, whatever is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry) (3:5). .... you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive[d] language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator" (3:5.8-10). We are renewed in the knowledge of God when we allow the knowledge to influence our ways of life, that is, when we align ourselves with the knowledge. Let us seek to grow in the knowledge of God and be ready to align ourselves with it, so that we may attain eternal life.
St. Paul reminds us that we become the children of God by being led by the Spirit and that the Spirit assures us of our status as the children of God. He puts it thus: "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, 'Abba! Father!' it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God". The Spirit frees us from fear by assuring us of our being dear to God and of His care of us. Therefore, fear is a sign that the Spirit is not in us or that we are yet to come to term with the truth that the Spirit is in us.
St. Paul goes further to tell us the benefits of being the children God. He says, "and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him." We are heirs of God and, of course, fellow heirs with Jesus Christ. Being heirs we have rights to the promises of God: eternal life, salvation, protection etc.
Jesus, in today's gospel reading, teaches us to take salvation of souls as the priority. No law should bind the salvation of souls. Law should be relax for salvation of souls.
Lord our God, help us to love You and to grow in your knowledge, our God. Amen.
Fr. Andrew Olowomuke
Lord our God, help us to love You and to grow in your knowledge, our God. Amen.
Fr. Andrew Olowomuke
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