Growing in Holiness

Friday, May 16, 2008 -- Week of Proper 1

Today's Reading for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 967)
Psalms 140, 142 (morning) 141, 143:1-11(12) (evening)
Ezekiel 39:21-29
1 John 3:1-10
Matthew 10:24-33

At the heart of the first letter of John is a double call. There is the call to believe that Jesus of Nazareth, the man who lived among us and died, is God's anointed one and abides in and among us. There is the call to act in a way that is consistent with the life, teaching, and victory of Jesus.

The two markers for those who live under Jesus are love and ethical behavior -- to become like him is to love others and to live a moral life. In this passage, the writer asserts that we can live lives without sin. Earlier he has said, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves." (1:8) But now he tells us, "No one who abides in [Jesus] sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him." John sets up a dichotomy: children of God love others and do not sin; children of the devil sin and do not love others.

It has been the goal of classical catholic spirituality that we grow into union with God by way of the spiritual journey. Traditional spirituality asserts that we can live in union with God in Christ through the Holy Spirit. The pilgrimage into holiness is also a major feature of the teaching of the Wesleys and the Methodist movements as well as various other Protestant holiness traditions.

I believe that it is a good thing to hold out before us the realistic proposition that we can live lives of holiness. We can live and breathe and have our being in God. We can come to a place of such love and surrender that we do not sin.

I've known a few people like that in my life. Before I went to seminary, an old priest told me that God puts a few saints in every congregation. He said it helped keep the priests humble. In every congregation I've served, I've known people who walk in an instinctive union with God. They are usually modest and unassuming, flying under the radar, until they say something that can catch your attention and let you know that they are living intimately, naturally, with the reality of the divine.

All of the spiritual disciplines and practices that we are given are designed to help us toward that end. We are to read and study to conform our minds to Christ. We are to pray and worship to orient our hearts toward God. We are to live with love and compassion toward others to conform our will in the Spirit. It's really just a matter of practice, practice, practice. For most of us this is a long, slow journey. It is significant to me that most of the saintly people I've met are elderly.

Much of the pilgrimage toward union with God and holiness of life consists of the mundane business of taking note of our bad habits and vices and slowly overcoming them with God's grace. The Christian life is a persevering life of making promises, and breaking promises, and making promises again, and breaking promises, and making promises again...

I think it helps to ask consciously for God's aid in this process of conversion. If you have an abiding fault, see if you can name it. (Here's where the classical list of vices might come in handy.) What virtue corresponds with your fault (or vice)? Ask God to take away your vice and replace that character flaw with the corresponding spiritual virtue.

Let me try an example to illustrate. Let's say you are habitually insecure in such a way that manifests itself in jealousy and fault-finding. Ask God to take away that character flaw. (You might even label it, say the vice of faithlessness -- lacking faith in God's infinite love.) Ask God to replace your faithlessness with such deep, intimate trust in God's infinite love for you, that you will feel overflowing compassion for all others. Let your affirmation be, "God has loved me so much that I can love, honor and forgive others."

With practice, our sins become less and our love becomes more. That's the goal of full humanity. "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are."

Lowell

_____________________________________________

Audio podcast: Listen to an audio podcast of the most recent Morning Reflections from today and the past week. Click the following link: Morning Reflection Podcasts

About Morning Reflections
Morning Reflections is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church
is to explore and celebrate
God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love.

Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

Our Rule of Life

We aspire to...
worship weekly
pray daily
learn constantly
serve joyfully
live generously.

Lowell Grisham, Rector

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas