14th Sunday of Ordinary Time, A July 5, 2020
Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette
Video of 8am Mass: https://youtu.be/x38f1Fxdtv4
“His dominion shall be from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the Earth.” That’s the promise of the prophet Zechariah… what he claims will happen when the Messiah, the king comes riding on a donkey. We know this to be Jesus Christ who rode a donkey into Jerusalem. We also know that, just a week later, this same anointed king was put to death on the cross. And a quick look at the state of the world doesn’t make it seem like Christ’s dominion is really all that established in our country or throughout the world. What gives?
Well, he rules the world and he doesn’t. Like many of the prophecies of the Old Testament, this one does not simply refer to a single event, but an ongoing process. With the eyes of faith, we can see both how it is already fulfilled – Jesus did ride a donkey – and how it is still waiting to be fulfilled – the second coming and Jesus’s final rulership of the world.
In the meantime, however, we cannot simply wait for this to happen. This double reality – Christ ruling and not ruling at the same time – has a direct implication for us. As St. Paul puts it in the second reading: “You are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.” He’s not talking about your personal body and soul. He’s talking about two competing realms. The Flesh is this present world: fallen, broken, full of sin, doomed to die and turn to dust. The Spirit is heaven and the new creation filled with perfection, light, love, and eternal life. Your body and soul will both end up in one or the other depending on which you serve.
Which brings us to the point about Christ’s dominion. After his resurrection from the dead, Jesus started something… kind of like an invasion. The realm of the Spirit – powered by the Holy Spirit in union with Father and Son – is breaking into this world, the realm of the flesh. Because we were born into the realm of the flesh and afflicted with Original Sin, we are full of temptation and doomed to die. Because we are reborn by baptism into the realm of the Spirit, we are able to overcome temptation and death itself. This depends on whether or not we cooperate with Christ’s spiritual invasion. Again, Paul puts it like this “if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
This is the interior logic of God’s commandments and the precepts of the Church. Too many people see their religion, their relationship with God as simple equation of rewarding good behavior and punishing bad. That’s not totally wrong, but it is burdensome and misses what is really going on. The heart of the matter is what happens in our hearts when we live a certain way. It’s not as if we are these unchanging, completed things that simply make right or wrong decisions. It’s that each of our decisions contributes to this ongoing process of becoming what we are. God is not tallying actions for the sake of some divine equation; he is trying to mold incomplete lumps of clay into beautiful vessels. But if we keep adding filth to the clay, leaping from his hands, and stubbornly refusing his shape, we’ll never get there.
By living according to the flesh – according to worldly standards of wealth, pleasure, and power – we are not just failing some test, we are literally turning ourselves into lifeless dust. By living according to the spirit – according to faith, hope, and charity – we are not passing the test, we are actually becoming wholehearted, immortal beings.
And let’s face it – being a good Christian is hard. It often hurts physically, psychologically, and emotionally. Praying when you don’t feel like it, saying no to that comfort and pleasure you know you’ll get from just giving in to your baser desires. Sacrificing to do good for others who may or may not accept it. When Paul says to “put to death the deeds of the body,” he isn’t exaggerating. We also have to turn down some good things because of our tendency to want too much. Fasting from food, drink, and entertainment pushes back against gluttony and sloth, but is also forces us to shift priorities.
Again, it’s not about numbers – how much we eat, drink, and play – but about what captures our hearts. It’s quite possible to have faith, but still live your life for the sake of the flesh – motivated by any number of worldly things. Your first thought in the morning, the last one at night, your go to dreams in quiet moments; are these turned towards the realm of the flesh or of the spirit? If it’s not God and his kingdom, you can’t simply decude “okay, my heart will now always just focus on God.” It’s like trying to say, “now I’ll just fall in love with that person.” That’s not how it works. It takes time and thousand thousand little decisions to reshape your heart, to let it be molded into a new one.
Simple routine can help this, but it’s not enough. The Spirit, unlike the Law, is not just a set of rules and habits. It’s a living, breathing reality. We do need habits of prayer, a schedule of fasting, a routine of spiritual reading but we also need a fundamental openness, and ongoing conversation with the Holy Spirit. Like any relationship, there will be changes, unique one-time requests, and a fluid dynamic of ongoing communication. Not just fasting on Fridays, but being willing, when inspired to do so, to add a fast or prayer or donation here or there for a specific intention or person. It means being willing to cut out something we love or enjoy because it crowds our hearts and minds too much, subtly shifting our focus away from God and his kingdom.
To live according to the Spirit, that is the goal. If you are, someone who labors and is burdened, go to Jesus. Learn from his meekness, his humility, his reliance on the Holy Spirit. Yes, it will take work – hard work – but unlike the labors of the flesh, Jesus works with you. The yoke he speaks of is meant for two, so you are not alone. And, once you start it is easier than the world makes it seem. It may seem like a burden, but is any burden as heavy as that of guilt and sin? Put to death your sinful inclinations, your slavery to the flesh not because you hate yourself, but because you love yourself enough to want the freedom only the Spirit can give, the freedom found only in the dominion of Jesus Christ. Then allow that liberating kingdom to spread from sea to shining sea.