When We are in Christ

 Reflection on Today's Readings, Saturday of 29th Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1, October 23rd, 2021
Texts: Romans 8:1-11; Ps. 24: 1-2.3-4ab.5-6; Luke 13: 1-9
St. Paul tells us, today, that those who are in Jesus Christ are no longer condemned. Who are those in Jesus Christ? St. John answer thus: "God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God in them" (1John 4:16b). We are in Christ when we live by love. At another place, he says, "No one who abides in Him sins (1John 3:6). This means we live in Christ by being holy. It is also said, "Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples" (John 8:31). Here there is emphasis on keeping His words. We can now understand what living in Christ means: it all means being like Him. We are to love to be in Him because He is love. We are to be holy to be in Him because He is holy. We are to keep His words to be in Him because He is the Word of God. How then can we be condemned, when we are like Him, the just judge. He is the One who condemns and He is just. He will not condemn us because we are like Him or else He will become unjust. We are beyond condemnation because we have the judge on our side.
St. Paul goes further to tell us that being in Christ we live by the law of the Spirit of life. This means we concern ourselves with those things that enhance life; we are bound to make life liveable for others. We are guided by the law of the Spirit of life when we live to ensure that people have life and have it to the full. This means we are to be like Christ who came that we might have life and have it to the full (John 10:10). Then we are in Christ when we continue His works, His mission.
He also reminds us that law fails to set us free. Law was incapable of setting us free because love is not a necessary condition for keeping the law. We could keep law out of fear or conformity. Law breeds animosity, anger, bitterness and rebellious spirit because of its forceful nature. However, to be in Christ, love is a necessary condition. In love there is perfect submission and obedience. In love law is kept and obeyed with joy. Put differently, law is fulfilled in love.
He goes further to say, "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit."  Those who live according to the flesh take as priority the things of the flesh: eating, drinking, sex, fame, power, etc. When we live according to the spirit we take as priority the things of the spirit. Things of the Spirit are things that belong to the Spirit: holiness, righteousness, gifts of the Holy Spirit (wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord), fruits of the Holy Spirit (patience, modesty, honesty, etc), truth, faith, charity, hope, etc. When we live according to the Spirit, we gain life and peace. When we live according to the flesh we gain death. Living according to the flesh makes us incapable of obedience to God while living according to the Spirit is being obedient to God.
St. Paul adds, "But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God really dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him." Here we see the Trinity: to be in Christ is to be in communion with the Trinity. We are in the Spirit because the Spirit of God dwells in us and we belong to Christ only when we have His Spirit. The Spirit of Christ is also the Spirit of God; for Jesus Christ is God. He continues by saying,  "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you." Our resurrection on the last day is guaranteed because of the Spirit of God that is in us. Let us continue to live by the Spirit, that we may rise from the dead on the last day.  
Today, in the gospel reading, Jesus calls us to repentance. He asks those who set their minds on the things of the flesh to repent and start living by the Spirit. He says, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered thus? I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” In the parable He reminds us that we are always given time to repent, to turn a new leaf, to be better. Each day is a time for us to repent, to change and become better.

Lord our God, thank You for who You have been to us, help us to be like you in all we do. Amen.

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke