How am I dead?

 

The body is dead when it has no feelings.

Reflection on Today’s Readings, Wednesday of 29th Week in Ordinary Time, Year I, October 25th, 2023
Texts: Romans 6:12-18; Psalm 124:1-8; Luke 12:39-48 

In today’s first reading, St. Paul gives a deeper understanding of Christians. He refers to us as men who have been brought from death to life. This means as Christians we have experienced death; it should not be strange to us anymore.What is this death? How am I dead? The death here is not when the soul forsakes the body; it is when we forsake the corrupt passions of the body such as envy, anger, hatred, covetousness, etc. Hence, St. Paul says, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions.” 

We are dead when we no longer allow bodily passions to rule us. Death affects the body, not the soul. The body is dead when it has no feelings or passions anymore. Our death as Christians is not involuntary loss of passions; we voluntarily eliminate them by not giving them space in our thoughts. We rather allow the desire of the spirit to prevail. St. Paul he says, “you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed”. 

We have given ourselves completely to living righteously

St. Paul also helps us to understand righteousness deeper. It is the life we live after putting to death the passions of the body. Hence, he says, “having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” To be slave is not just to serve but to give oneself completely. To be slave of righteousness is to consider nothing but righteousness; we have given ourselves completely to living righteously. This is possible because the passions of the body are already dead. The passions of the body often contest with passions for righteousness. 

Jesus teaches us, today, to give up bodily passions as we wait for His coming again. He calls unfaithful the servant who gives in to bodily passions as he waits for his master.  Jesus uses eating, drinking and getting drunk and abuse for bodily passions. He warns us against bodily passions by saying, “the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will punish him, and put him with the unfaithful.”  

Keep your heart with all vigilance

We are to kill the passions of the body and wait for the Lord in righteousness. To wait in righteousness is to keep watch over our thoughts against bodily passions. The wise says, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Prov. 4:23). Jesus emphasises the same thing when he asks us to be a householder keeping watch over his house against thief. 

Prayer 

Lord Jesus Christ, grant that we may be obedient to Your teaching and always keep guard over our hearts. Amen  

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke