For this week, I was struck by the Second Lesson or Epistle from Romans 8:7- 17. In these verses, St. Paul contrasts the fleshly life with true spiritual life. By the "flesh," the Apostle is not disparaging human physical existence in itself (which Scripture views as originally a good divine creation). Instead, Paul is referring to the fallenness and weakness of the human condition which can easily be led astray. And by spiritual, Paul is not exalting some vague human interest in the immaterial aspects of existence. Rather, the Apostle is encouraging a life inspired by and empowered by the Holy Spirit, a life directed toward God the Father and lived in unity with God the Son, Jesus Christ. Such a Christian life includes a renunciation of worldliness and a readiness to accept the cross of Christ.
In this life, each Christian faces such an ongoing struggle between the fallen nature and the higher self dedicated to the Triune God. Every aspect of life, from our basic physical needs to our highest ideals and devotional pursuits is subject to temptation and distortion. Of course, physical things such as food, creature comforts, and sexual impulses are common fleshly temptations, but so are pride in our moral standing and dependence on the goodness of our own religious practices. To use Paul's term, we must always be ready to "mortify" even those things that we consider best about our earthly lives. We need to humbly submit every aspect of life to divine guidance and grace. God has graciously called us and justified us, and through the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in Word and Sacrament, we can be unified with Christ and His cross more and more deeply.
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