Word to the Wise
Friday, October 26, 2007 - Twenty-ninth Friday in Ordinary Time
[Romans 7:18-25 and Luke 12:54-59]I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. The willing is at hand, but doing the good is not. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. So, then, I discover the principle that when I want to do right, evil is at hand.......
There are times when the Word of God has to be received in more than one way to be fully understood. However, we may not be able to go into it in the same way as scripture scholars do who are familiar with various literary and rhetorical devices that can shape the meaning of a passage. Such is the case in this famous passage from St. Paul. On one level, the level I think most of us live on, he seems to be struggling with the familiar challenge we all face in terms of "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." On another level, one which scripture scholars spend a lot of pages on and which is important even if not as accessible to us, Paul is speaking of the person who has become Christian, especially the Jewish person, who knows what the Law requires but who has turned to Christ. How is such a person to determine how to act in a case where evil is beckoning since this person no longer views the law as a saving reality? This is a more personal and existential question, and scholars interpret the passage different ways. I have found the debate Paul speaks of easier to understand on the first level I spoke of above when it comes to everyday decisions. The deeper level comes into play when I'm trying to see myself as a person before Christ - what IS my relationship? What DOES it mean to be "saved?" This kind of question would be called a kairos type of question which brings a person's whole life, past, present and future into view, and not just a series of decisions about a particular temptation or compulsion. I leave it to you to decide which level you want to work with. AMEN
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