July 16, 2017
“For 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.” St. Paul presents us with a rather stark challenge!
The body is good. It is good because it is a creation of God into which God breathes life. God affirms the goodness of our bodies by the simple fact that God, himself, took on our human flesh in the person of Jesus. The incarnation affirms that the body is good. Our human body arouses within us certain desires, and when those desires are satisfied in a way that is healthy for us, and in keeping with what we know to be God’s expectations of us, then our human flesh is not a source of sin. It is only when we allow our bodily desires to dominate our lives and satisfy our desires in a way not in keeping with what God expects of us that our flesh can become an occasion of sin. To drink excessively and to act irresponsibly is a sin. To eat excessively and not seek help to control your appetite can be sinful. Sexual relations can be sinful depending on your state in life. We always have to examine how we respond to our bodily desires. Is our response appropriate to what is good for us and in keeping with what God expects of us?
In baptism, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that helps us understand when the satisfaction of our bodily desires has become sinful and it is the Spirit who can liberate us from our slavery to the sinful satisfaction of our desires. We have to open our minds and hearts so that we can perceive the truth that the Spirit speaks to us and open ourselves to the change the Spirit wants to effect within us so that we live according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. It is not easy because the satisfaction of our bodily desires is pleasurable, but if we succumb to that pleasure in a way that is not healthy for us, and not in keeping with God’s expectations of us, those same pleasures can be deadly. They can rob us of the eternal life that is the desire of God for us and which should be our desire as well.
Pray for the grace to live according to what the Spirit reveals to be the way to life!