Why is it that many times we have to make our own personal mistakes, rather than learn from the mistakes of others? As children, our parents warned us about getting into certain situations or doing certain things that would result in less than ideal and sometimes painful consequences. Yet, for some reason, perhaps as part of “coming into our own” as individuals, each of us at one time or another did something despite the cautionary chiding of our parents, who many times were forced to watch the so-called “train-wreck” of our mistakes. From “don’t touch that, it’s hot,” to “don’t drive too fast,” we often have to learn the “hard way” that wisdom of what has been told to us before. Being told that something is right or wrong does not automatically translate into “appropriate” behavior. Somewhere along the way, as the years go by in our development, the hope is that our approaches to decision-making become grounded in a more inclusive and holistic environment that does not rely solely on feelings and gratuity, but allows for the consideration of the understanding of a more full picture.
Paul seems to be saying something about this in his letter to the Galatians (GAL 5: 18-25):
“Brothers and sisters:
If you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are obvious:
immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry,
sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,
outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness,
dissensions, factions, occasions of envy,
drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.”
One curious thing to notice here is that prior to his “laundry list” of items that are “of the flesh,” or those things that drive our egos, Paul has an important preface that seemingly places the Spirit over the law. Paul continues…
“In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Against such there is no law.”
It seems that Paul may not so much be setting up a dualism of “right” and “wrong” conduct, so much as describing the ground from which any actions can be evaluated. To be guided by the Spirit is the key here. The Spirit is Love, peace, patience and faithfulness and this has nothing really to do with Law. Paul is talking about a posture into which we should “lean into” life. When we approach life from a positive Spirit-led and love-filled “place,” then all of the “lawful” actions fall in line. The release of ourselves into the Love of the Spirit that will guide us takes front and center so that the “works of the flesh” are obvious and also ones that do not flow from the Spirit-led life. The only “law” of the Spirit is Love and it is an always available invitation for us to either engage in or not.
As we look at the Gospel (LK 11: 42-46), we should remember first that this continuing tirade of Jesus all began with him not performing ritual acts of purity prior to eating when he went to dine with one of the Pharisees (Tuesday’s reading). The uproar caused by this led Jesus into his somewhat caustic description of the manner in which the Pharisees (and also the scholars) approach life:
“…You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb,
but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God.
These you should have done, without overlooking the others.
Woe to you Pharisees!
You love the seat of honor in synagogues
and greetings in marketplaces.
Woe to you! You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.”
Jesus, more than pointing out hypocrisy, is flat out telling the Pharisees in his “WOE” that they are simply not paying attention to the bigger picture – the “law items” completely cover over any consideration of “love for God.” Like Paul, Jesus is saying that the law seems to get in the way because it is operating as a “director of activities” rather than an invitation into relationship. Here we can see Jesus as the frustrated and angry “parent” watching the “children” play with “death” so to speak– “the unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.” There is a community of blindness here, where we don’t know that we have missed the point and then others also fail to see it… and the crowd of blindness grows. And don’t we all know how dangerous this can be when we are talking about religious and political leaders? Not to mention the followers of these leaders.
It’s not like Jesus can just tell them what to do as parents so often want to do. As with children, and honestly with adults as well, we have to see it for ourselves. We have to wake up and realize that our mode of operation cannot work if by “work” we mean that we truly want to live in the loving community of God or as Paul refers to it – the life led by the Holy Spirit. There is no law for or against this because Love encompasses all of this. Paul tells the Galatians we already “live in the Spirit,” but we must also “follow the Spirit.”
Sometimes following the Spirit may mean having to watch others making mistakes, but not from a posture of “rightness” and certitude, but rather of loving compassion. Sometimes it may mean that we have to accept that we have made mistakes and others have been hurt by it. Transformative consciousness I believe occurs when someone knows that they are loved no matter what they have done or do. This is the compassion of Christ following the Holy Spirit. It’s the comfort of an embrace around brokenness that grants healing and simultaneously sparks that Wisdom flow of the Spirit. It is precisely this flow of love in compassion that can allow us to break out of patterns of “immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.” Our unseen graves unknowingly walked upon then can become visible pathways of compassionate justice in an ever-growing community of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
Peace
Thomas