Word to the Wise
Tuesday, May 13, 2008 - Tuesday in the Sixth Week of Ordinary Time (Our Lady of Fatima)
[James 1:12-18 and Mark 8:14-21]Blessed is the one who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proven he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love him. No one experiencing temptation should say, "I am being tempted by God"; for God is not subject to temptation to evil, and he himself tempts no one. Rather, each person is tempted when lured and enticed by his desire. Then desire conceives and brings forth sin, and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death.
Many of us will remember a routine by the comic, Flip Wilson, in which he plays a female character named, Geraldine, who would speak of her outrageous conduct in this way, "The devil made me do that!" Thus moral life becomes a struggle between a "good angel" who sits on one shoulder, whispering in one ear, and a "bad angel" who sits on the other shoulder, whispering in the other ear. If we ascribe temptation to the devil, can we ever speak of a "temptation" to do something good? Is temptation always to do something bad? Perhaps the "temptation" to good is found in the old theological category, "actual grace," which describes the assistance that God gives to us to accomplish acts of virtue. Temptation, as the Letter of James states above, means to be lured and enticed by our own desires. It presumes freedom of choice. Otherwise it is a compulsion, such as an addiction would be. Once addicted the only freedom left is to deliberately choose to free oneself from the addiction by making that "first step" as 12 Step Programs require. For most of us, it is the temptation to over do a good thing. Asceticism does not come easy in a land of plenty. Too much food, drink, sex, medication, consumer goods - this is the stuff of temptation. If we have a God-given freedom in regard to those things, we must recognize that temptation is the price of freedom along with responsibility for our choices. No one is predestined to addiction or poor choices. The asceticism of knowing when enough is enough comes from wisdom and faith. Without that asceticism, we will find ourselves in moral trouble very soon. That's when we will need God's mercy which is abundantly given. AMEN
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