Me vs. Me; You vs. You

23^rd Sunday OT

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

St. Bubba's, Turkey Neck, LA*

A spirit of rage and hatred has possessed the land and her people. Portland, Seattle, Milwaukee, Kenosha, D.C. We see it almost every day – screaming, fighting, burning, violence against the innocent; destruction of property; the nearly mindless worship of wrath and vengeance in the streets. Reason and the rule of law seem a distant thing, something that held true long ago and far away. But no more. Those charged with keeping order and protecting the innocent stand by and watch, solemnly chanting the litany of progress and praying that they will be last in line for the guillotine. Even some in the Church have become drunk on the spirit of chaos, deposing the Lord in their hearts for the fleeting but exciting dictatorship of self-righteous finger-pointing, aligning themselves with the words and deeds of those who hate us. When these disordered passions finally burn out, when the consequences of these sins smack us hard in the face, the Church's hangover is going to be staggering. The nation's hangover may very well be fatal. Christ is victorious. . .in the end. But – right now – the battle must be hard fought in the hearts and minds of those who love him. “Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.”

When we talk about battles we talk about friends and enemies, allies and opponents. Who's with us? Who's against us? There are those who hate us b/c we belong to Christ. They may call themselves our enemies. They may work against the Gospel. They may persecute us or try to recruit us. But we have no enemies in this world. Christ died once for all. This makes every man, woman, and child who lives or will ever live the object of our charity. We have no enemies b/c there is no one we will not try to save. Does this mean that we are obligated to show our bellies to those who hate us? No. That we can't defend ourselves if attacked? No. Does it mean we must welcome them and their unrepentant spirits of rebellion and destruction into the Church as guests? No. Nothing in the Gospel requires us to play the fool in the face of overwhelming even violent opposition. What the Gospel requires is that we do not see those who hate us as our enemies. We show them Christ. Christ in us. Christ in them. And we love b/c love is the fulfillment of the Law. The battle we are fighting isn't Us vs. Them. It's Me vs. Me. It's You vs. You.

Make no mistake. The Devil wants us to think that They are attacking Us, and We have to defend Ourselves in kind. They punch. We punch back twice as hard. And in punching back twice as hard We grow just that much closer to becoming Them. If the Devil can keep us focused on political events, politicians, court battles, elections, and convince us that our lives depend on getting the right people in office to defend us, then he can convince us that our salvation is to be found in the princes of this world. He can get us to ignore the spiritual battles that rage in the hearts and minds of every Christian and lay our faith and hope at the feet of a political party or a candidate or a platform. He can con us into thinking that we can only do Good by voting well. This time the right governor, Senator, President will bring us glory and vanquish evil. It's a lie. Yes, we must participate in civil society and promote the Common Good. But the battle that matters in the Long Run is the battle you and I are waging against ourselves. Who is my King? Who rules my heart and mind? Who died for me on the Cross? Who am I vowed to make manifest in my body, in my flesh and blood? Who do I love more than my political ideology, my sexual preference, my race, my sex, my class? Who sits at the center of my being. . .?

If you cannot answer those question with a resounding “Christ!” then the battle – for you – is lost already. You might ask yourself: how did I lose? Was I too much with the world and not enough with Christ? Maybe I identified Christ too closely with some secular ideology or politician. Maybe I worked hard on “doing justice” and not enough on “being just.” Perhaps I thought those who opposed my political preferences were my spiritual enemies, and I fought them until I became them. I didn't love sacrificially. I didn't love mercifully. I didn't love at all. I opposed, confronted, and rebuked. But I didn't pray, fast, or sacrifice. I argued, rebutted, and campaigned. But I didn't bear witness, proclaim the Gospel, or forgive. I didn't see – in time – that we are spiritually sick, spiritually wounded. . .and I just made us sicker; I poured my salt on our wound. I fought, but did I love? The victory belongs to Christ and to those who love him. Your real enemy is you tempted to abandon Christ and embrace the world.

*This is my imaginary parish where I preach when a deacon is preaching at the real parish

 

 

Follow HancAquam or Subscribe ----->