Word to the Wise
Monday, June 4, 2012 - Monday in the 9th Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Pet 1:2-7 and Mark 12:1-12]For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love.
The early Christian community had a greater sense of the "second coming" of Christ because they believed it would happen "soon." It was the "meantime" that formed the pastoral challenge. How were they to live in a very difficult moral environment? The second letter of Peter is designed to encourage them. Today's passage consists of the opening verses of the letter and sets the purpose, which is to recall the "promises" and "knowledge" that God has given to the community. Knowledge of these promises should motivate a person to live a good life with a view to the second coming of Christ. The quotation above is a kind of moral recipe for a good life!
It is not only a "recipe," but could serve as a good examination of conscience. I like a good turn of phrase that can paint a verbal picture in just a few words. The words quoted above show a fine moral "dynamic" that begins with faith and moves through knowledge and lifestyle to a resulting love. A "virtue" is not some "glow in the dark" quality, but a disposition to make the right kinds of decisions. Informed decisions require knowledge and self-control and perseverance. I think we all can recognize this even as we recognize the challenges. Any "mutual affection" or "love" that we experience will require all those things that come before it. I recall a traditional Southern expression: "He/she was raised right!" This means we can recognize goodness and integrity in a person. It could be a good spiritual exercise to do a "history" of our moral life in the light of the quotation and see where we stand! AMEN