Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
I recently came across a little line on the internet that said one of Superman's most underappreciated powers is his ability to control his superhuman strength so as not to inadvertently harm those he interacts with. This strikes me as similar to the admonition St. Paul offers today. We need to have Superman-like restraint.
St. Paul lays out this command: "with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love." It is easy to regard these traits in their negative or as things that naturally occur when we are passive. However the sense we get from St. Paul today is that these are active choices. These are attitudes, dispositions, and virtues that we can focus on and become strong in. What do we need to do to become strong in humility, gentleness, patience, and a love that bears with one another?
We must first cease to be first in our own minds. My ideas, my attitudes, my desires, my image, and my convenience cannot be my principal concern if I want to grow in these virtues. When I stop thinking about myself first I can step back from pride, anger, impatience, and resentment. However, I don't just need to step back from those things. Anyone who becomes hard and callous can act upon a stoicism that doesn't lash out in anger. With enough apathy, no one will hold grudges. And so we not only need to step back but step forward into a life worthy of the call we have received.
When we step forward into that call we are called to reorient ourselves toward God and others. Without this two-fold orientation we can miss the mark on the virtues Paul is calling us to. This is the case because to properly discern how to live out these virtues in our messy lives we need to consider the end that is in-sight. St. Paul's end seems captured in these words, "striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace: one Body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."
We are called to humility because we are not in charge. There is one Lord in charge, who is over all things and it is God's desire that our unity is preserved. God is less concerned about me getting my way and more concerned about me being on "the way." We are gentle as we preserve the bond of peace. We are patient in our faith and our hope and we bear with one another through love because we recognize that we are all family in the household of God.
Today, we strive to accept Paul's command to live humbly, gently, patiently, and without resentment. May we see unity and peace grow when we keep our focus on Loving God and neighbor in a way that cares and loves deeply.
Spencer Hargadon