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Letters Twenty-First
Sunday in Ordinary Time |
The Catholic Telegraph
August 25, 2000In this reading the author of Ephesians continues to set forth the general principles of Christian moral life. Next Sunday we will find him writing about more specific matters.
Our reading this week begins by reminding the readers that the times in which they live are fraught with evil. For that reason they should live cautiously, take advantage of the opportunities for good that God offers them, and exert whatever effort it takes to become wise in the ways of the Lord. If they want exhilaration in their lives, it should come not from wine but from spiritual enthusiasm in the Holy Spirit expressed in words and music that come from their inmost selves. This Spirit will inspire them to be in touch with the Father through Christ offering thanks "always and for everything."
Two main points in this reading seem to call for comments. The first is that the demands of Christian moral living are not always clear and obvious. We have to work and figuring out what they are, not because God wants to play hide and seek with us, but because the world in which we live has its own agenda to put before us, an agenda that is often much more simple and plain and appealing than God’s agenda. Fornication, for example, is often far more attractive than a lifetime of faithfulness in marriage. Making lots of money for ourselves seems to make a lot more sense than looking out for poor people.
If we are not attentive to what God asks of us, if we don’t exert some degree of effort to know God’s will and carry it out, we can easily end up following the world’s agenda to our own ultimate destruction. "Watch carefully how you live," the text tells us.
One of the gifts we receive from God’s Church is detailed moral direction. For centuries wise and holy people have been reflecting on the meaning of our humanity, of salvation, of human actions and the fruit of that reflection is the science of moral theology. We don’t have to figure everything out for ourselves every time. We simply have to be willing to take advantage of the opportunity for direction that the Church offers us. When the Church teaches us about sin and virtue (for example, in the Catechism of the Catholic Church) it is not so much giving out rules for us to follow as it is teaching us the implications of our being children of God, remade in the image of Christ. It doesn’t make much sense to overlook this kind of guidance. It seems much better to live "not as foolish persons but as wise ... Do not continue in ignorance."
The other main point that seems to call for emphasis in our reading is the author’s encouragement to the readers to give thanks, "always and for everything."
At the very beginning of our reading of Ephesians (on the fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time) we saw that thanksgiving plays a regular part in the Pauline letters, and we heard the author of this letter offering thanks and praise to God for His saving plan on our behalf. Here he tells his readers that thanksgiving has to be part of the basic fabric of their relationship with the triune God, "always and for everything."
Why give thanks for everything? Because everything, to the extent that it is God’s work, has goodness in it somewhere. We may not always be able to see where the blessings lie, but God is wise and powerful enough to confer blessings in ways that are beyond our comprehension. Giving thanks for things we don’t understand is simply a way of expressing our faith in the fundamental goodness and power of the God.
Of course, there are the things we do understand: the beauty of a sunset or a flower, the love of family and friends, a deeply stirring piece of music. For them, too, we owe God our thanks because whatever is attractive or appealing in them is somehow a reflection of God’s own glory and majesty. We are called to be grateful to God for all the good that surrounds us because, in the final analysis, it’s all God’s doing.
The same reasons apply for giving thanks "always." There is never a time at which God is not reaching out to us with His goodness, never a time in which we are not being blessed by Him. From morning to night, "Thanks be to God" should be part of our Christian stream of consciousness. We give thanks "always" because there is "always" something to be thankful for.
This posture of continuous and universal thanksgiving is not just a nice religious practice for pious people. It is also a way to develop and express a wholesome and explicit personal relationship with the Lord, a way to assimilate ever more deeply the life of Christ that is in us. And it’s also a good way to prepare for eternal life, because, when we have reached the fullness of the kingdom, our main agenda item as saints of God will be to give thanks, "always and for everything."
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Conversation Questions
How do I train myself to make moral decisions?
What part does gratitude play in my life?
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