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“Encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.
St. Francis de Sales had this to say about one of the most profound mysteries of our faith: The Triune nature of God.
“From all eternity there is in God an essential communication by which the Father, in producing the Son, communicates his entire infinite and indivisible divinity to the Son. The Father and the Son together, in producing the Holy Spirit, communicate in like manner their own proper divinity to him. So also this sovereign sweetness was communicated so perfectly outside itself to a creature that the created nature and the godhead each retained its own properties while still being united together in such wise that they were only one self-same person…In short, God's supreme wisdom has decided to intermingle this original love with his creatures’ will in such wise that love would not constrain the will but leave it possessed of its freedom.” (Treatise on the Love of God, Book 2, Chapter 4)
What can we hope to consider or explain about the profound mystery of the Trinity in a way that makes a practical difference in our lives and in the lives of those we touch? For the sake of simplicity, let us look at each person of the Trinity in very broad strokes, looking at those activities – in our attempt to take in the mystery of the divine nature – which we associate with the Father, the Son and the Spirit in recalling the history of our salvation:
· In the Trinity, we experience a Father who creates us out of love.
· In the Trinity, we experience a Son who redeems and reconciles us out of love.
· In the Trinity, we experience a Spirit who encourages and enlivens us out of love.
We are most like the Trinity when we establish and sustain in ourselves the things that most clearly reflect our God-given, Trinitarian nature - when we create, feed and nourish relationships in which we are redeemed, reconciled and inspired to live in the freedom of the sons and daughters of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In the words of St. Paul, we are faithful to our divine dignity and destiny when we “encourage one another…living in harmony and peace…”
We are most like the Trinity when we forgive, when we are willing to let go of hurts, disappointment, injury, and betrayal. We are most like the Triune Godhead when we inspire, encourage, challenge, and support one another to do the same.
How might we best act in the name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Spirit today? How might we encourage (literally, “give heart” to) one another?
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“Blessed are...”
In his commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, William Barclay wrote the following before delving into an examination of each individual Beatitude:
“Beatitudes are not pious hopes of what might be. They are not glowing – but nebulous – prophecies of some future bliss. Beatitudes are congratulations on what already is. The blessedness which belongs to the Christian is not a blessedness that is postponed to some future world of glory – it is a blessedness which exists here and now. Beatitude is not something into which the Christian will enter – beatitude is something into which the Christian has already entered.”
“While it is true that Beatitudes will find their fullness and consummation in the presence of God, Beatitudes are a present reality to be enjoyed here and now. The Beatitudes in effect say, ‘O, the bliss of being a Christian! O, the joy of following Christ! O, the sheer happiness of knowing Jesus Christ as Master, Savior and Lord!’ The very form of the Beatitudes themselves is a statement of joyous thrill and radiant gladness of th4 Christian life. In the face of the Beatitudes a gloom-encompassed Christianity is unthinkable.”
(The Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1, p. 111)
The point that Barclay is making is that the Beatitudes are not an example of quid pro quo – that is, Jesus is not saying that if you do the good now you will get even better later. Living a life of Beatitude – as we see so clearly in the life of Jesus – is its own reward.
How can we be Beatitude – that is, how can we be a source of blessing – in the lives of others today and experience firsthand the happiness that comes with being faithful to who God calls us to be?
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“You are salt for the earth…you are light of the world…”
In his commentary on today’s selection from the Gospel of Matthew, William Barclay wrote:
“In the time of Jesus salt was connected in people’s minds with three special qualities: (1) Salt was connected with purity. No doubt its glistening whiteness made such a connection easy to make. The Romans believed that salt was the purest of all things because it came from the purest of all things: the sun and the sea. So then, if Christians are to be salt of the earth, they must be an example of purity.”
“(2) Salt was the most common (and most readily available) of all preservatives. It was used to prevent good things from going bad. So then, if Christians are to be salt for the earth, they must be a remedy for corruption.”
“(3) The greatest and most obvious quality of salt is that it lends flavor to things. Food without salt is a sadly insipid and perhaps even sickening thing. So then, if Christians are to be salt for the earth they must add flavor to life.”
(The Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1, p. 119-120)
We are created to be salt for the earth. We are meant to be pure, that is, to be unadulterated, to be genuine, and to be real. We are meant to be a remedy for anything in danger of decay or disrepair in life. We are meant to add flavor, gusto, and zest to life.
How can we be sources of this divine, life-giving salt in the lives of those whom we encounter today?
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“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets...”
Throughout the Gospels Jesus was repeatedly criticized by the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes for not “doing it by the book”. That is, he was accused of abolishing the Law and the prophets by not living by the letter of the Law. In today’s Gospel Jesus responds to that charge by saying not only does He have no intention of abolishing the Law, but also he plans to go one step further – to fulfill the Law.
And how does Jesus fulfill the Law and the Prophets? He does so by being himself, that is, by performing the works of God in accordance with the will of God, and not by the whims of man – a life described by St. Paul as a life lived in “the Spirit”.
In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales wrote:
“The Holy Spirit dwells in us if we are living members of Jesus Christ, who said to his disciples, ‘He who abides in me, and I in him bears much fruit.’ This is because one who abides in him partakes of his divine Spirit, who is the midst of a person’s heart as a living fountain springs up and flashes its waters into everlasting life...Thus, like a little grain of mustard seed, our works are in no way comparable in greatness to the tree of glory they produce. Still they have the vigor and virtue to produce it because they proceed from the Holy Spirit. By a wondrous infusion of his grace into our hearts he makes our works become his and yet at the same time they remain our own, since we are members of a head of which he is the Spirit…” (TLG, Book XI, Chapter 7, pp. 211-212)
So, it turns out that the reason that Jesus did not abolish the Law – even the smallest parts of it – is that he embodied the Law, that is, the Law of the Spirit which supersedes (“fulfills”) the letter of the Law. While we, the followers of Jesus, may need to know how to do it “by the book”, the life of Jesus clearly suggests that there is something much more important than the letter of the law and that something is the law of the Spirit, which leads to life.
Today, how can we do our part in fulfilling Jesus’ law of love through our love for one another?
“Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Scribes and Pharisees you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.”
In today’s Gospel Jesus raises the bar when it comes to considering just what it takes in order to “enter into the Kingdom of God. Jesus calls his disciples to a higher love! When it comes to judgment, it’s no longer enough for them to say, “Well, we never killed anybody.” Now, they must also be able to say, “We did not grow angry with somebody else; we did not hold another person in contempt; we didn’t hold a grudge against anybody!” In other words, Jesus calls his disciples to live a higher love!
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales describes what this higher love – “devotion” – looks like:
“Inasmuch as divine love adorns the soul, it is called grace, which makes us pleasing to his Divine Majesty. Inasmuch as it strengthens us to do good, it is called charity. When it has reached a degree of perfection at which it not only makes us do what is good but also enables us to do what is good carefully, frequently and promptly, it is called devotion. Ostriches never fly; hens fly in a clumsy fashion near the ground and only once in a while, while eagles, doves and swallows fly aloft, swiftly and frequently. In like manner, sinners in no way fly up towards God but make their way here upon the earth and for the earth. Good people who have not yet attained devotion fly toward God by their good works but do so infrequently, slowly and awkwardly. Devout souls ascend to Him more frequently, promptly and with lofty heights.” (IDL, Part I, Chapter 1, p. 40)
Today, how might we rise to Jesus’ challenge to live a higher love? How might our souls “ascend to Him more frequently, promptly and with lofty heights” with our feet planted firmly on this earth?
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“If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out…if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off…”
In his commentary on today’s selection from the Gospel of Matthew, William Barclay wrote:
“The words of Jesus are not to be taken literally. However, what Jesus is saying is that anything that may entice us to sin is to be ruthlessly rooted out of our lives. If there are habits that tempt us to sin - if there are associations that can increase the likelihood of wrongdoing - if there are pleasures that could lead to our ruin - then such things must be surgically excised from our lives.”
Drawing from wisdom gleaned from countless spiritual classics, Barclay offers a two-pronged approach to rooting out from our minds, hearts and attitudes anything that can serve as a stumbling block in our efforts to imitate the life of Jesus:
“First, do something! One way to defeat negative thoughts or influences is through Christian action. Fill your life so full of Christian labor and service that you have little or no time left for negative thoughts or feelings. One effective cure for evil thoughts or attitudes is being fully engaged in good action.”
Second, fill your mind with good thoughts and your heart with good feelings. “There is a famous scene in Peter Pan in which Peter in the children’s bedroom – they have seen him fly, and they wish to fly, too. They have tried to fly from the floor, and they have tried it from the beds, both resulting in failure. ‘How do you do it?’ John asks Peter. ‘You just think lovely, wonderful thoughts and they will lift you up in the air.’” The other effective remedy for evil thoughts or feelings is to choose to think or feel something else. (The Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1, pp. 148-150)
Are there negative thoughts, feelings or attitudes that are holding you back from being more like Jesus? While you might be tempted to simply rip them out, it is perhaps more advisable – and far more Salesian – to replace them with good thoughts, feelings and attitudes, and to allow such life-giving transplants to lead to more God-like actions.
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“Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the Evil One.”
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales counseled:
“Your language should be restrained, frank, sincere, candid, unaffected and honest. Be on guard against equivocation, ambiguity and dissimulation: such things are dangerous…As the sacred word tells us, the Holy Spirit does not dwell in a deceitful or tricky soul. No artifice is nearly as good or desirable as honest, plain dealing. While worldly prudence and carnal artifice belong to the children of this world, the children of God walk a straight path and their hearts are without guile.” (IDL, Part III, Chapter 30, p. 206)
We are children of God. May our efforts just this day to both speak the truth and to also walk in the truth enable us to talk the talk – and to and walk the walk - of Jesus Christ!
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