Word to the Wise
Tuesday, February 18, 2014 - Tuesday in the 6th Week in Ordinary Time
[Jas 1:12-18 and Mark 8:14-21]Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proven he will receive the crown of life that he [God] promised to those who love him. No one experiencing temptation should say, "I am being tempted by God"; for God is not subject to temptation to evil, and he himself tempts no one. Rather, each person is tempted when lured and enticed by his desire.....
FEBRUARY 18, BL. JOHN OF FIESOLE [FRA ANGELICO], O.P.
The Letter of James is an early Christian document of ethical and moral teaching addressed primarily to Christians of Jewish background. However, it gives us not only an idea of how early Jewish Christians taught and believed, but it transcends time and speaks to ordinary experience in our own day! .Who among us has not experienced temptation from our youngest days to our oldest?
Some of us can recall the comedian, Flip Wilson, who invented a character called "Geraldine." Geraldine was constantly referring to a little devil on one shoulder and little angel on the other. The tug of war in motivation was very funny and the classic line was: "The devil made me buy that dress!" We all experience that tug of war. The Letter of James makes it clear, however, that temptation is not a game played by God with weak human subjects. Often the source of temptation comes from something that, in itself, is neither good nor evil but simply not the wisest choice for us at that moment. God's role is played through the Holy Spirit and the teaching of the scriptures and the moral tradition learned and taught by the Church.
Human appetite has ever been a problem since Eve and Adam ate the forbidden fruit! We all know the struggle. We should know the wisdom that should guide us in these situations. Paying more attention to "the Spirit" and less to "the flesh" is the best policy. The "grace to resist" is more than available if we truly want it. Let God help! AMEN