Word to the Wise
Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - Tuesday in the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
[Galatians 5:1-6 and Luke 11:37-41]For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. [Galatians] Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside? [Luke]
In Christianity the "inside" and the "outside" seem always in tension! In the passage from Galatians for today, St. Paul aims at the distinctive (at that time) practice of male circumcision because he sees this as almost the equivalent of baptism and wants to maintain the separation of the Mosaic Law from faith in Christ lest anyone think that the observance of the Law of Moses had any salvific effect for Christians. He points instead to "faith working through love" as the saving event. The same tension appears in the gospel passage for today. Jesus points out that the interior disposition is just as important if not more important than the exterior! In short, one may do the right thing for the wrong reason. In the past, I have preached a retreat on the theme of the "inside and outside" in regard to religious life. There the question comes up in the context of those who stand in judgment of others because the latter do not appear to be obeying the laws regarding certain ritual or community observances. The judgment in question condemns another person as not being a "true Dominican" (or whatever religious congregation might be involved) because the condemned one fails to do certain external actions. I think we have to pay attention to the "interior" state as well as the "exterior" state. God made both the inside and the outside of the person. These need to be integrated so that we present ourselves as "authentic" persons. This is not easy! St. Paul, in a famous passage in Romans (7), laments his struggles with not being able to bring his behavior in line with his intentions and vice versa! The tension can appear also where worship is not matched by justice and mercy. Jesus points to that in the last line of today's gospel in regard to giving alms. Our worship must be in line with our treatment of neighbor! "Integrity" and "authenticity" can be abstract psychological/theological terms but we know the struggle entailed in being faithful to what we believe in such a way that our conduct reflects our belief. What is important is that we keep up the effort and not grow discouraged. The Lord will help! AMEN
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