10/17/22 - Living in the Material World

Jesus wants to give us himself. We want the world.

From this today's Gospel reading:

“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” Luke 12:14

The weather effects me in strange ways, especially in the mornings and especially in the fall and in the spring. I think it has to do with sudden movement of fronts and the volatility of the barometric pressure at those times of year (not that I know anything about those things). I just know when warm fronts and cold fronts collide, or a clear bright day is followed upon immediately by a rainy one, it's as if my head is glued to the pillow and my eyelids are stapled shut. I then go through the day in a fog, unable to focus and barely able to stay awake.

I share this with you, because this morning was odder still. Yesterday was a clear and (mostly) bright day. Overnight rain did indeed move in. Yet I was up before the alarm: early enough to be miffed, but alert enough that trying to go back to sleep was pointless. In spite of this, trying to stay awake during the holy hour was a struggle. It was almost comical at times. But the Lord did speak, which tells me that he is the one in control. I may be tired or distracted, but He does His work. There are plenty of mornings where I'm relatively rested and ready, and I don't feel moved in any particular way. It's just for me to be present and open, because it really isn't about me.

As for what the Lord "spoke," I was hearing Him say that He wants to give us Himself. He wants to share with us a portion of His Spirit. It means living in the material world, using the things of this world for our good and the good of our neighbor, taking what we need and forgetting the rest. 

It means not being obsessed with following the spirit of the world. We aren't to worry about those who's opinions count for something in the culture. We aren't to fear those who can cancel us in this world, but who have no other power over us. We should instead fear the one who can cancel us eternally (see Gospel for Saturday of the 28th Week). 

Our seeking of justice in the material world should not contribute to the disillusion of family bonds. That was the problem with the person who wanted Jesus to arbitrate his estate. He may have been in the right, and then again, maybe not. We're not given that information. But maybe we can be so zealous in our pursuit of justice that we cause damage worse than the injustice we are trying to redress. Knowing when to press our case and when to pull back takes discernment.

All things need to be ordered to the building up of the family, the Church community as well as the civil community, in that order and for the glory of God.

I'll be back to flesh things out a little more later.