Word to the Wise
Saturday, October 24, 2009 - Saturday in the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
[Romans 8:1-11 and Luke 13:1-9]For those who live according to the flesh are concerned with the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit with the things of the spirit. The concern of the flesh is death, but the concern of the spirit is life and peace.
If someone asks us, "Who are you?" - most of us would respond with our name, and not the serial number on our birth certificate! Neither, of course, would really tell the inquirer who we are. A complete response would take a long time because we humans are complex realities. Our personal identity is often a secret from our very selves because we may engage in a denial of our true identity for various reasons, especially when some social stigma attaches to the truth about us. Saint Paul is using the flesh/spirit contrast not in the Greek sense, which distinguishes between a material/physical reality and a nonmaterial/spiritual reality in the human person, but in a Hebrew sense which sees the human person as a whole. In other words, the "flesh" refers to the person who does not believe in Christ and is not redeemed. The "spiritual" person is the one who has come to faith in Christ. This identity has considerable consequences in the realm of living one's life. Those who live "according to the flesh" will be concerned with what in our modern times would be called a purely "secular" lifestyle having no reference to God. Those who live "according to the spirit" strive to live in such a way that their faith informs all their behavior. Given our option-crazy culture nowadays, some might ask if there's a "middle way" here. Is it possible to be a "mix" of "the flesh" and the "spirit?" The answer has to be that the two are incompatible as a matter of identity. In behavior, the spiritual person may fail occasionally to live according the spirit but the primary identity must have an integrity that would lead that spiritual person to recognize the weakness and try to eliminate it. Some try to "compartmentalize" life so that "flesh" and "spirit" each have a role to play. This really means that they're trying to "have their cake and eat it, too" and this is not possible in a truly Christian life. It would be a denial of God's call except when we find it convenient to identify with that call! St. Paul challenges us to come to terms with our true identity as Christian persons and to live according to that identity. AMEN
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