Going beyond the material and the natural

WHEN Christ said, “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven,” (Mt 5,20) we have to understand that Christian life will involve the task of going beyond what simply is material and natural in our life. That’s because our life is meant to be spiritual and supernatural, since it is supposed to be a life of sharing with God’s life and nature. 

 In this regard, we have to see to it that our dealings with one another, and most especially with God himself, are not guided simply by human and natural standards. This Christ clarified when he said: 

 “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill’; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.” (Mt 5,21-22) 

 This Christian duty, of course, will obviously require tremendous effort, given the way we are—always prone to think that we can only be guided by our own natural and human ways rather than by God’s ways. But even before thinking of the need for this tremendous effort, we have to realize, first of all, that with humility we need to ask for God’s grace. Only with his grace can we aspire to carry out this duty. 

 To be able to carry out this duty we always need to have in our mind and heart the example of Christ, and to feel his great love for all of us, irrespective of how we are. Let’s remember that he asked us to love even our enemies, and he lived by this standard when even on the cross, he offered forgiveness to those who crucified him. 

 It’s when we keenly feel this love of God for us that we can manage to love God and others the way Christ loved us, going beyond merely natural and human values. To be sure, loving God and others the way Christ loved and continues to love us, does not in any way go against our nature. It simply goes beyond it, purifying it and elevating it to the supernatural order, so we can share the very life and nature of God as we are meant to be. 

 In this regard, a certain 4th century Greek bishop by the name of Diadochus had something relevant to say: 

 “The measure of a man’s love for God depends upon how deeply aware he is of God’s love for him. When this awareness is keen, it makes whoever possesses it to long to be enlightened by the divine light, and this longing is so intense that it seems to penetrate his very bones. He loses all consciousness of himself and is entirely transformed by the love of God.” 

 And he added even something very interesting that describes how going beyond our natural self to reach the supernatural life of God is: 

 “Such a man lives in this life and at the same time does not live in it, for although he still inhabits his body, he is constantly leaving it in spirit because of the love that draws him toward God. Once the love of God has released him from self-love, the flame of divine love never ceases to burn in his heart and he remains united to God by an irresistible longing.”

Focus on God always

“ASK, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you.” (Mt 7,7) Words of Christ that clearly tell us to simply focus on God in whatever we do, irrespective of the changing circumstances and conditions of our earthly sojourn. 

 Christ reassured us that everything would just be fine even if we encounter some kind of heavy drama in life. “For everyone that asks, receives; and he that seeks, finds; and to him that knocks, it shall be opened.” 

 Then he reinforced the same idea by saying, “What man is there among you, of whom if his son shall ask bread, will he reach him a stone? Or if he shall ask him a fish, will he reach him a serpent?” 

 And the divine reasoning concludes splendidly. “If you then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven, give good things to them that ask him? All things therefore whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them. For this is the law and the prophets.” 

 We have to train ourselves to abide by this reassuring words of Christ, especially in the way we think and react to things. It’s important that especially in the psychological and psychosomatic dimensions of our life, these reassuring words would constitute as their animating spirit. 

 That’s how we can manage to have peace of mind, a peace that the world cannot give, and a joy that is proper to our human person who is at the same time a child of God. That is how we can achieve a good mental health, an issue that is nowadays being talked about widely due to the many problems many people are having in that area. 

 We need time and effort to let these reassuring words of Christ sink deep in our consciousness and to make them the effective guide to the way we think, react, behave, etc. 

 If some of the oriental religions, like Hinduism and Buddhism, teach practices about mental concentration and contemplation—the yoga, for example—Christianity encourages us to spend time in meditative and contemplative prayer. That’s because once our mind and heart know how to get intimate with God, then it would be much easier for all the other faculties we have—our feelings, passions, imagination, etc.—to connect with God. 

 It is highly advisable that we set aside some time everyday to mental prayer, doing it conscientiously and not just for show. That way, we can manage to keep focus on God the rest of the day, and all of our actions, would always be carried out in the spirit of faith, hope and charity, and not just with human and temporal values. 

 We need to persevere in prayer, continually developing a certain intimacy with God. Let’s remember that God is a most loving and understanding father with whom we can confide anything at all. We should not be afraid or ashamed to talk about some dark and bad things that may be lingering in our mind and heart. 

 In fact, these negative things should motivate us all the more to get close to God who will be most happy to hear and help us. Let’s remember the parables of the lost coin, lost sheep and the prodigal son, whose common conclusion is precisely that of God being most happy when a sinner comes back to him.

The relation between faith and conversion

THERE is no doubt about this. For us to feel the need for conversion, which is actually a constant need for us since we cannot help but fall into some sin, one way or another, we need to have faith. 

 This truth about us was highlighted in that gospel episode where Christ told a crowd that “this generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” (cfr. Lk 11,29-32) 

 Then he proceeded to say that the men of Nineveh repented because they believed in the preaching of Jonah. The underlying logic Christ tried to impart to the crowd was that people repent and feel the need for conversion because they are moved by their faith. Those who have no faith would not feel the need for conversion. 

 We really need to train our mind and heart to be filled with faith, with our belief in God, in his mercy as shown by Christ, so that we can always feel the need for conversion and penance. When our thoughts and intentions are simply driven by natural motives, and not by faith, the need for conversion would hardly be felt. And if ever we feel some need for it, such desire for conversion would not go all the way. 

 Let us remember that as persons, we move and act according to what we think and intend to do. If our thoughts and intentions are simply shaped by what we feel, what we see and hear, etc., with hardly any reference to our faith, to what God wants us to do and to be, then we would only be contented with natural goals, not to mention, the infranatural ones to which we are very prone. 

 The need to be with God, to be his image and likeness, which God wants us to be, would not be felt. We would not feel the need to pursue a spiritual and supernatural goal that is actually meant for us. We can only pursue that goal if we have faith, a faith which would unavoidably require us to have some conversion. 

 We should therefore try our best to develop an operative faith. Our faith should not remain only in the theoretical, intellectual level. It has to be a functioning one, giving shape and direction to our thoughts and intentions, our words and deeds. In fact, it should shape our whole life. 

 The ideal is that we should feel it immediately. Indeed, it should be like an instinct such that whatever we think, say or do, or whenever we have to react to something, it is our faith that should guide us. 

 We have to understand that it is our faith that gives us the global picture of things, since it is God’s gift to us, a gratuitous sharing of what God knows about himself and about the whole of creation. It is meant for our own good, for us to live out our true dignity as children of God. 

 It is a kind of knowledge that will lead us to our eternal life. It will make us relate everything in our earthly life, both the good and the bad, to this ultimate goal in life which is to be in heaven with God, a state that is supernatural. But it is a divine gift that we need to take care of. It is like a seed that has to grow until it becomes a big tree that bears fruit.