SUMMER THINKING: WHO AM I AND WHO’S IN CHARGE OF MY LIFE

“You are not in the flesh;
on the contrary, you are in the spirit. . . .
If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
the one who raised Christ from the dead
will give life to your mortal bodies also,
through his Spirit that dwells in you.” Romans 8: 9,11

How do we become the real St. Michael Parish, not the parish we want St. Michael’s to be, but the parish the Father wants us to be – one that lives and breathes like Jesus who let himself be put to death so that we (all of humanity, not just our parishioners) might be saved?

How do I come to know not only this “real Father and Son,” but also the “real person before me,” the “real me” – and not just the “we” of the flesh, the “we” organized according to the modes of thinking and operating of us and our society? How do I let the Spirit of Jesus “give life to my (and our) mortal bodies through the Spirit that dwells in me and in us”?

As we stand at the threshold of a new pastorship and, with the momentum of the Synod of 2023-2024, and perhaps, a new era at St. Michael’s,  we may be standing where Jean Valjean (of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, first published in 1862) stood at the moment when he was faced with a decision to save a life or walk away from performing this action that would trump his plans for the future. Valjean, a Jesus figure and model for each of us, had to decide, again and again, his whole life through, which to choose: continue living his life as he wanted it to be or let God lead him where he thought he didn’t want to go. The choice is ours today, as it was Valjean’s and our first parents: Do we make choices ourselves or do we let them be made by the Spirit of God who “gives life to my (and our) mortal bodies through the Spirit that dwells in us”

A NUDGE TOWARD THE PRIORITIES OF THE SYNOD

Conversion is something that we humans like seeing in others, but turn away from when we sense a need for conversion in ourselves. But facing our need for conversion leads to a more joy-filled existence. It is in facing our being in need of conversion that we, prone to mis-stepping sinners, grow in humility and take up our cross, believing in the resurrections of our led-by-the-Spirit lives. We have to face our needed conversions like the major league baseball pitcher said in his comment on his poorly pitched games, “I have to see that I have not been myself. I have to get my head around what is happening to me and try to get better.”

One of the priorities that emerged, not only in our parish Synod sessions, but also in the session held around the U.S. and in other countries, too, is co-responsibility. It is, not only, a call for a change in structure, but also a call for personal conversion for the sake of the purpose of the Church. Just like that pitcher is willing to change in order to further the mission of his team, we need to make personal changes, even personal life changes, for the mission of Christ’s Church, for the salvation of God’s people.

Are we, like Adam and Eve and humanity since then, relying more on what I choose for myself rather than listening for what the Spirit may be whispering? How, when and where do we do that? One way may be by focusing our attention on organizing things so that all “runs smoothly” according to our way of wanting things rather than focusing on letting the Spirit who dwells in us and in others “give life” to our communal gathering and praying. How can we be a people that makes decisions as a people that listens to God?

LET’S NOT JUST STAY IN THE WORLD CREATED BY TODAY’S ADVERTISERS

It is easy for us to slip into an Adam and Eve or a “my way” mode of thinking. Our culture seems to be leading us to believe that we have to be the ones who are “in charge,” that we are the ones who should be “giving life to our mortal bodies” and to our souls.  How foolish it is to waste our lives thinking and acting upon this belief!  How much of my day is spent acting as if this is so, while the Spirit – within us – is patiently awaiting us to tune in!

Let’s allow ourselves a chance to sit quietly in God’s presence and let the Spirit “give life to my mortal body”?  Be still and know that God who started the human race and the world, has placed so many things here that are invisible, but real – the gently blowing breeze, my pumping heart and breathing lungs – working pretty much automatically, keeping me alive, even though I am not making them do it! Could these be just a few of the clues and reminders that God, too, although invisible to the bodily eyes is really, truly present, that the Spirit is ready to “give life to our mortal bodies” and our jubilant or sagging spirits – if we would only let God in and open ourselves to Conversion?

Sister Loretta