WORD 2day: Wednesday, 28th week in Ordinary time
October 14, 2020: Galatians 5: 18-25; Luke 11: 42-46
At times the Word sounds very strong and frightening and one such instance is today: be it in the first reading or in the Gospel, we have a warning clear and loud - no one shall be spared, when it comes to entering the Reign of God! If we are directed by the Spirit, we shall enter the Reign of God, and the signs of it shall already be seen here and now. If we are directed by our self-indulgence and self-pride, we shall not inherit the Reign of God, because we never belonged to it in our daily life! That is the warning!
You cannot belong to Christ Jesus unless you crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires, teaches Paul today. He even lists those self-indulgent behaviours. They are contrary to the Jesus way of life, because of three reasons: (i) because they objectify our own selves - making our bodies, our persons, a mere object of instant and passing pleasure; (ii) because they objectify the other - making the persons around me objects of my pleasure, or merely some 'things' that I can use for my good; and (iii) because they objectify God - making God an object to whom I give something, I do something, I say something, not realising that God is a person who is looking at everything that I am involved in, even those that I do not dare to manifest to anyone other than me! These self-indulgent tendencies have to be curbed if we have to let ourselves be directed by the Spirit.
The Gospel presents another set of disqualifiers - you cannot belong to Christ, or the Reign of God - if you are so worried about some external acts and not interior dispositions, if you put on a pretence and a show that you are someone extraordinary but carry within you festered ideas and obnoxious attitudes of demeaning others and discriminating persons, if you preach or speak externally of something but do not ever care to live even a single element of what you proclaim! These are clear evidences and signs that I am in no way directed by the Spirit, whatever be my external status in the society.
When Jesus speaks in these words and strikes against the Pharisees, one of the lawyers speaks up in a voice of self-justification, and Jesus lashes out against him too - telling us in clear terms, no one shall be spared! There are no status or titles, roles or functions, achievements or establishments that can give you an entry into the Reign of God... except your daily life, day to day choices and integrity lived here and now - from this rule, no one will be spared!