We are involved in the supernatural work of God

THE gospel reading on the Feast of St. Luke, the Evangelist, celebrated on October 18, talks about Christ appointing 72 disciples and sending them in pairs to places where Christ intended to visit. (cfr. Lk 10,1-9) 

 What we can immediately gather from this gospel is that the main job of Christ’s disciples, which we also try to do, is to prepare people for the coming of Christ into their lives. They are intimately involved in the work and mission of Christ. Thus, they should have this purpose clear and strong in their mind and pursue it with the best of their abilities. 

 In that gospel, Christ warned his disciples that they would be like lambs among wolves. He also specified that they should not bring with them unnecessary luggage. But he tacitly reassured them that they would taken care of. 

 What should not be lost in the consideration of this truth of our Christian faith is that since we are involved in the work and mission of Christ which is definitely not only human but is, first of all, supernatural, we should be firm in our belief that the supernatural powers of Christ would be the first elements to be at play. Yes, we have to make full use of our natural, human powers, but it’s Christ’s divine power that takes the leading role. 

 We should just strengthen our belief in this truth of our Christian faith and train ourselves to play by God’s will and ways. In fact, we should strongly remind ourselves that in the end what truly matters in our life is to know and do God’s will. That is when we can also see supernatural things taking place through our hands. 

 Thus, in any endeavor that we undertake, we have to make sure that while we should make full use of all the natural and human means we can lay our hands on, we should not forget that we need to use, first of all, the spiritual and supernatural means also. In fact, between the two, the spiritual and supernatural means should take priority over the other. 

 And that’s because our tasks and endeavors do not only have a natural and human character. Given who we really are, we have to remember that our tasks and endeavors also have a highly spiritual and supernatural dimension. 

 Our work is not just a technical thing. As long as it is not a sinful, our work is always also a work of God. It is not simply ours. It’s in our work and in our ordinary duties that God engages us, and where we should have an encounter with him. 

 We have to realize more deeply and abidingly that whatever task or work we have just do not have a natural and human goal. Again, given who we truly are, i.e., that we are image and likeness of God and children of his, our work, no matter how small, always has a spiritual and supernatural purpose. 

 In fact, we should always be aware that whatever we do is done for God and with God also. We should not just be interested in the technical aspects of our work. We have to be wary of falling into what is called as technicalism or technologism. These isms, sad to say, appear to be getting common these days.

How to keep our dignity as children of God

WE can get an inkling of the answer to that question from some words of St. Paul in his Letter to the Ephesians. He said, “He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and unspotted in his sight in charity. He has predestinated us unto the adoption of children through Jesus Christ unto himself according to the purpose of his will.” (1,4-5) 

 Yes, our dignity as children of God is a matter of adoption through Jesus Christ who is the pattern of our humanity and the savior of our damaged humanity. And that adoption can only take place if we abide by the will of God. 

 We need to realize that it is in knowing and doing the will of God that, in the end, truly matters in our life. Everything else should just be an occasion, means or reason to know and fulfill that will. It’s in knowing and doing the will of God that would make us children of his. 

 Remember that episode where Christ was told about the presence of his mother who was in the crowd listening to him? (cfr. Mt 12,48-50) Christ’s answer was clear as to what would constitute as being brother, sister and mother of his. 

 “Look, these are my mother and brothers,” he said. “Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!” 

 We should realize that the most important duty we have is to earnestly know and fulfill the will of God for us at every moment. We need to train ourselves for this duty, since we all know that we always tend to do our own will rather than God’s will. 

 Yes, we have to learn how to live by God’s will always. This, in the end, is what is most important to us. Otherwise, we would be undermining our very own freedom and our humanity itself. Whatever we do is done because we want it. It should be a fruit of our freedom. 

 What is most important is to conform our will to God’s will, which is indispensable to us. Otherwise, we sooner or later would destroy our freedom and our humanity itself, since God is the very author and the very lawgiver of our freedom and our humanity. 

 This is a basic truth that we need to spread around more widely and abidingly, since it is steadily and even systematically forgotten and, nowadays, even contradicted in many instances. We need to inculcate this truth to children as early as when they can understand and appreciate it. Then let’s give them the example of how it is lived. 

 God’s will is the source of everything in the universe. The whole of creation in all its existence, unity, truth, goodness and beauty starts from God’s will and is maintained by it. The entire range and scope of reality—be it material or spiritual, natural or supernatural, temporal or eternal—is “contained” there, not only theoretically but in vivo. 

 It would be absurd to believe that the whole reality can be captured by our senses and feelings alone, or by our intelligence that is working on its own and producing the arts and the sciences that we now have and that we continue to discover. 

 We need to pound it hard into our mind and heart that we need live by God’s will if we truly want to keep our dignity as children of God! We have to be wary of the many things that would now desensitize us from this need as we are prodded to go full-blast into self-indulgence.

Life in the flesh vs. life in the Spirit

IN his Letter to the Galatians, St Paul makes this distinction between life in the flesh and life in the Spirit, something that is very important to know if we want to abide by our true dignity as children of God, created in his image and likeness, and sharers in his divine life and nature. (5,18-25) 

 At the moment, there seems to be a worldwide trend toward pure sensualization or carnalization, leading us, especially the young, to be merely carnal, instead of being spiritual, to use terms defined by St. Paul. 

 It’s important that we develop a certain sensitivity to this concern because otherwise we would all be deluded by a very treacherous virus, a sweet poison that can truly harm us individually and collectively. 

 This is not at all about suppressing or disparaging in any way the value of the senses, the urges and the hormones, and the sentiments, feelings, passions that they produce. Neither the value of the physical attributes we have. 

 We just have to realize more deeply that they need to be ruled and directed by reason and ultimately by faith, hope and charity. Otherwise, we can be accused by Christ himself who once said of some people: 

 “They look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.” And citing a prophecy of Isaiah, he said, “Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes…” (Mt 13,13.15) 

 Let’s be spiritual, not carnal. That’s the ideal that we should aim at. It’s not a matter of suppressing our material and earthly condition, but rather of going beyond that level. That’s where the road to the fullness of our humanity can be found. That’s where we are freed from the constricting world of our senses, emotions and passions. 

 St. Paul said something to this effect. “Put off your old nature which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph 4,22-24) 

 In another instance, St. Paul talked about talking or preaching in a spiritual way and not just according to human and worldly wisdom. “My message and my preaching,” he said, “were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” (1 Cor 2,4-5) 

 More clearly, he said: “We speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.” (1 Cor 2,13) 

 This is a big challenge for us all. We have to learn to think, speak and act in a spiritual way, and not just mainly conditioned by our material and worldly aspects. 

 When we see a person, thing or event, we should not get stuck in the knowing their physical appearance or external characteristics alone. We should go beyond them, discerning the spirit that animates them. In this we have to train ourselves endlessly. We need to check if the spirit behind them is of God or not. 

 We have to learn to walk in the Spirit rather than to walk in the flesh. We have to train ourselves to think, speak and act in terms of our faith, and in intimate relationship with God and the saints. This is always possible and very doable!