Word to the Wise
Wednesday, October 23, 2019 - Wednesday in the 29th Week in Ordinary Time
[Rom 6:12-18 and Luke 12:39-48]Sin must not reign over your mortal bodies so that you obey their desires. And do not present the parts of your bodies to sin as weapons for wickedness, but present yourselves to God as raised from the dead to life and the parts of your bodies to God as weapons for righteousness. For sin is not to have any power over you, since you are not under the law but under grace. [Romans]
In this passage from his Letter to the Romans, St. Paul is considering the consequences of baptism, which identifies a person with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Two major consequences occur and Paul uses the common social condition of slavery in his time to illustrate them.
The first consequence is a change of status. In baptism, a Christian goes from being a slave to sin to being a slave to God's grace. This is a change of allegiance and especially of obedience. The second consequence is that the behavior of a Christian must show this change of status. Behavior that was typical of anyone who was a slave to sin is incompatible with someone who has been baptized and is now a slave to righteousness in Christ. This will require constant vigilance because the surrounding culture constantly offers opportunities to be disobedient to grace.
This is not to be confused with the terms we have learned from catechism about "state of sin" or "state of grace." What St. Paul is talking about is our very identity as Christians and an attitude that produces behavior compatible with that identity. We must ACT in a way that is worthy of who we ARE. The holy water font at the door of the church is a reminder of this. The water and the words "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," were the means of our baptism into Christ. (We often forget to say those words when we do this traditional act!). As Pope St. Leo the Great said, "Christians! Remember your dignity!" AMEN