Word to the Wise
Friday, October 27, 2023 - Friday in the 29th Week in Ordinary Time
[Rom 7:18-25a and Luke 12:54-59]"I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. So, then, I discover the principle that when I want to do right, evil is at hand. For I take delight in the law of God, in my inner self, but I see in my members another principle at war with the law of my mind, taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Who will deliver me from this mortal body? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. [Romans]
Many are the times when I have felt that St. Paul is speaking of the ordinary human struggle with temptation, and I have heard this struggle for more than 50 years of hearing confessions. It is tempting in itself to see this as a personal struggle in St. Paul that I and others can identify with. This can be helpful in its own way, but St. Paul is not referring to a personal struggle but to the general state of unredeemed humanity, living without faith in Christ. The struggle here is to find a way to deliverance from the sin of Adam, which is at the root of unredeemed humanity. That way is faith in Christ.
Nevertheless, a person struggling with an addiction or a stubborn bad habit could find great comfort in St. Paul's words. The "divided I" describes the inner war between good intentions and bad behavior. This is one instance, among many, in the scripture where the original intent of the author results in a good but unintended result! This could be the work of the Holy Spirit and the power of human hope, but we must also respect the original message. The broader intended meaning has a very good personal "side effect." For both we can be grateful to the Lord! AMEN