Word to the Wise
Friday, October 23, 2009 - Friday in the Tenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
[Romans 7:18-25A and Luke 12:54-59]I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. The willing is ready 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!
If there is a passage anywhere in St. Paul's writings that most of us can identify with, it would be the one featured in the first scripture for today. Here we meet the Paul who struggles like all of us with conflicting emotions and behavior. We find ourselves acting in ways that seem "out of character" for us and yet, the behavior is a matter of record! We think that our mind or our hands have a law all their own that we can't control! History and our own experience teach us that even saints can be sinners. The best intentioned of human beings can do great harm when attracted or threatened by something strong enough to overcome the most disciplined integrity! What we are called to do is to be aware of those weaknesses and prepared to avoid circumstances where those weaknesses can come to action! St. Paul is not speaking of addiction, he is speaking of ordinary human choice, and we who are disciples can make bad choices. At the end of the scripture, Paul places his whole dilemma in Jesus' hands because the direction we need is to be found in Him. AMEN
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