Word to the Wise
Wednesday, September 13, 2017 - Wednesday in the 23th Week in Ordinary Time
[Col 3:1-11 and Luke 6:20-26][Y]ou have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek or Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all. [Colossians]
SEPTEMBER 13 ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, bishop and doctor of the Church
In these words of St. Paul, we have a direct challenge to the sin of racism! It is a difficult challenge since it goes to the depths of human fears and prejudices. We encounter it when we say (or think) "All_________are__________ (except the ones I know, maybe). That is only on the individual level. When such thoughts are enshrined in legislation terrifying things happen such as the Nazi atrocities, or slavery and Jim Crow laws in the U.S.A. - the list could go on and on. Racism gets into everything. It can push Christ out of our lives.
The "new self" refers to the baptized person who has received a new identity and cannot return to former ways of living. We are being "renewed in the image of our creator." But even we who are baptized and think of ourselves as "good Christians," know how that "fill in the blanks" statement above can creep into our thinking or in discussion with other "good Christians." Conversion is not just a one-time thing that happens and is over with. It is a continuing process. That is, indeed, why the sacrament of Reconciliation exists, but I rarely hear anyone accuse themselves of racism!
St. Paul's challenge to the Colossians is his challenge to us. If the events of this past couple of years from Ferguson, MO to Charlottesville, VA are any indication, we have a long ways to go, but that is no excuse to give up. The "new self" needs constant maintenance. AMEN
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