Fr.
Philip Neri Powell, OP
OLR,
NOLA
The
spirit of this world cannot accept the Truth b/c it does not see or
know the Father. The worldly spirit does not see or know the Father
b/c it rejected His Christ. Those who belong to the world are
orphans. They have no mother or father. No home. No place to be at
peace. They call this world their home, but the world is home
to no one. It lives and moves, serving its own agenda, eating alive
anyone who makes it their god. You see, the world isn't a person or a
place; it's a spirit, the living principle of rebellion and disease,
the anti-Christ – the opposite of Christ. For us, Christ
lived and died in love so that we might be made heirs to the Father's
kingdom in the Spirit, so that we might dwell in the Spirit of Truth
and find eternal life. The world offers false promises, and baits us
with the temptation of becoming gods without God. Christ frees us
from sin and death, making us orphans of the world but not
orphans in the world. When we abide in the Spirit of Truth,
dwelling fully in the love of the Father and Son for one another, we
come to know the freedom of the children of God. That freedom compels
us – in word and deed – to bear witness to Christ and his works.
Now,
we might be tempted to rest on our laurels and just wait out the end
of the world. We might be tempted to sit pretty atop our pillar of
righteousness and watch the world burn. We could say to the world,
“We got ours. If you want yours. . .come to us.” This
attitude is a recipe for pride. Christ did not command us to find our
salvation in him and then sit back and wait for others to make their
way to us hat-in-hand. His command – “Go out to all the world”
– is unambiguous and final. There is no rest for us if we will be
obedient to our Lord and remain in his love. Divine Love is diffusive
by nature; that is, what Love is spreads around to all as a
matter of Who Love Is. Our salvation through Christ is not a
secret. It's not a treasure to be hoarded. It's not a priceless
commodity to be dribbled out only to the truly deserving. We are left
in this world as children of the Father so that we might be the
living lights of His boundless mercy and love. We are not here to
survive. We're here to thrive – to thrive as vocal, active,
unrelenting witnesses to the power of the Father's offer of
forgiveness to all sinners. Anyone who hears should hear. Anyone who
sees should see. Our job is make sure that those who are of this
world see and hear – from us – all that they need to come to
the Christ.
Through
the centuries, as followers of Christ, we have come up with dozens of
ways of teaching and preaching the Gospel. We invented universities.
Hospitals. Hospices. Orphanages. Schools. Religious orders. Catholic
priests, religious, and laymen built the foundations of modern
science and medicine. The 16th century Dominican
friars of Salamanca laid the legal groundwork for what we call
“universal human rights.” The ways and means we've invented to
bear witness to Christ stand under western civilization and give it
its bearing toward God. We've accomplished this by being orphans
of the world, that is, by submitting ourselves to the spirit of
Truth and denying the world our citizenship. This is no easy thing.
We know: the world is very much with us. These past three
months of epidemic and economic collapse prove this beyond any doubt.
However, touched and twisted as we are by the world, our lives are
not centered in the world. We are pilgrims making our way through,
stopping only occasionally to do the good we are gifted to do. How
should we see ourselves as those who have bowed to the Spirit of
Truth in Christ?
I'll
suggest an image: viruses. We've been flooded with news about viruses
lately. One in particular. Whether we've been to med school or not,
we've all become amateur experts in virology and epidemiology. Can we
see ourselves as viruses in the world? Christian viruses infecting
the spirit of the world with the truth of the Gospel? The world
certainly treats the Church like a virus at times. Attempts to
immunize itself against our influence. Vaccinate itself against our
witness. Even isolate itself to prevent further infection. But like
all viruses, we are resilient. We keep our basic DNA and adapt to the
new defenses. We just keep coming back to testify to the mighty power
of God to accomplish great things for His glory. We keep infecting
the culture with our works of mercy; with our acts of charity; our
unflagging hope in the resurrection; and our absolute trust in the
providence of God. The Spirit of Truth who animates our lives in love
never tires of revealing the face of the Father to us, and we must
never tire of sharing this revelation with the world. So, I'll ask:
who have you infected with the virus of Christ? Who have you brought
to the field-hospital of the Lord?
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