Live in the Spirit, Follow the Spirit

October 16, 2024 – Wednesday 28^th Week in Ordinary Time

Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101624.cfm)

Each of us is a person capable of THINKING, FEELING AND ACTING. With what I think and how I feel, how do I act? We know for a fact that our actions are most of the time influenced by what kind of ideas we develop and feelings that we foster. This is how the kind of relationship and treatment to others are being molded. This also include the kind of decisions that we make; the kind of passions and ideals we express; and the kind of intentions and desires that we try to fulfill are being realized.

The passage of the Letter of Paul to the Galatians reminds us of this reality in our humanity. And in the language of Paul, he told us how the “works of the flesh” and the “Spirit of God” will mold and influence the human mind and heart. This is at the same time a warning and a call for every Christian.

Paul warns, “if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” This is the law of death, of corruption and misery. As what the Apostle reminds us such “works of the flesh” are filled with selfishness and utterly centered on the ego of the human person. It feeds and nurtures what would separate us from others and from the grace of God.

This is the very reason why Jesus, in the Gospel of Luke rebuked the Pharisees and the scholars of the law who were only filled with their selfish desires and ambitions. They thought nothing of others, but only what was only beneficial, advantageous and comfortable for them. They may have looked like righteous and pious people on the outside, as they were very concerns of appearance and elaborate rituals, however, their hearts were filled with malice and indifference.

In consequence, their mind and heart were prevented to see and recognize the presence of God in the person of Jesus. They even felt threatened by the mere presence of Jesus and his way of life and teachings. They rejected him because they allowed their minds (thinking) and their hearts (feeling) be influenced by works of the flesh. Thus, their reaction (acting) towards Jesus and his message of conversion was filled with violence and hatred.

This will also happen to us. When we too are only concerned of ourselves without minding the needs of others and if those people around us, we become so self-centered. When we want to only think and feel for ourselves then our actions become selfish and indifferent. When we only foster anger and hatred in our hearts, refusing to let them go, then our actions and words will surely be violent and malicious. When we linger only to our pains and hurts, we will certainly remain suffering and hurting ourselves and others. When we too are only concerned of seeking comfort, advancing our selfish desires and ambitions, then, the more we become indifferent, removed from what others would feel and experience.

Paul rather calls and reminds us to “live in the Spirit and to follow the Spirit.” And the Spirit of God, that raised Jesus from the dead and made us children of God will bring us to love, to joy, to peace, to patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

We pray and ask for this grace then, that in all things, our thinking, feeling and acting will be filled with the Spirit of God, that we may follow Christ more closely, know him more clearly and love him more dearly. Hinaut pa.