Saturday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
We learn from the parable in Luke’s gospel that we have been given new life by Christ’s life, death, and resurrection; he has made it possible for us to bear fruit by “cultivating the ground” and “fertilizing” (Lk 13:8). Yet, we must respond, as Paul exhorts the Ephesians, by living according to the gift that Christ has given us (Eph 4:8).
Such living can be difficult, however, as we are constantly encouraged to live in fear. At every turn we hear endless warnings. Hurricanes, fires, tsunamis, earthquakes, terrorists, thieves, car accidents, airbags, drunk drivers, airplanes, guns, o-zone depletion, global warming, cigarette smoke, eggs, spinach, apple juice, rice, air pollutants, heart attacks, AIDS, cancer, homosexuals, immigrants, priests, the economy, Iran, Afghanistan, China, North Korea, Pakistan, and downtown Daytonians we are told, will all kill or harm us. Lock the doors!! Be afraid!! The other night I heard this lead-in to the evening news (with accompanying ominous music): “What’s in your child’s lunchbox that could kill him?!?!? Tune in at 11 to find out.” I didn’t.
There are, of course, real challenges, problems, and difficulties that deserve our attention, even grave ones. We should work to address these. However, the messages that we receive often indicate a culture of fear, whereby we are primed to rally around the latest cause célèbre because otherwise it will harm us. This can be a very effective marketing and political tool.
However, if we are motivated by fear instead of the message of Christ died and risen, it can be all too easy to become rash or paralyzed, to be concerned with the protection of our own skin instead of living in Christ’s life-giving Spirit, to impulsively move from fad concern to fad concern. Thankfully, Christ does not leave us alone in this endeavor to be courageous witnesses to the gift of His life. As Paul explains in the first reading, He has given us the Church, in which we are all members with different tasks – all oriented toward “living the truth in love” (Eph 4:14), so that we might become like Christ.
It is as Church, not as individuals, that we proclaim life and not fear and death. Together we go rejoicing to God’s house “no longer… tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery” (Eph 4:12-13). Let us reflect today about our role in the Church. Do we primarily understand ourselves as members of the Mystical Body of Christ or as individuals fighting our way along in this scary world? We learn from these readings that it is only in the framework of the former that we can truly proclaim the life of Christ.
- Tim Gabrielli