Job 19: 21-27a * James 1: 17-21 * John 16: 5-14
"Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends, for the hand of God hath touched me! Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh?" (Job 19:21-22) These words of Job clearly show us a man who is less than impressed with the advice of his three friends who have gathered around him in the season of his calamities. Thus while he is no doubt comforted by their presence, their words can only serve as a cautionary counterexample to Job's lived antecedence of the passion of Christ Jesus. And just as Jesus "humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" so that "God also hath highly exalted him" (Phil. 2:8,9), so Job knows "that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth...whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another." (Job 19: 25, 27)
And we, like Job, know these things to be true, even if we cannot (like Job's friends) yet perceive their end and final consummation with our senses. And that, faith in its essence, requires patience. Of this virtue, St. Cyprian (the third century bishop of Carthage and martyr) says: "It is patience which both commends, and preserves us to God. It is this that restrains anger, bridles the tongue, governs the mind, guards peace...binds down the violence of pride, quenches the flame of hatred...makes men humble in prosperity, brave in adversity, mild toward injuries and contempts....It is this that firmly fortifies the foundations of our faith. (from "On the Benefit of Patience")
Beautiful! But even that is not generous enough for our loving Father. For He is also glad to send us the Holy Spirit. As we hear in the Gospel today: "It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." (John 16: 7,8)
The Greek word rendered here as reprove really has a dual meaning: both ‘to convict’ and ‘to convince’. Just as at trial it is the prosecutor’s role to convict the defendant by convincing the jury, so is it the Spirit’s role to convict us of our need for repentance before God by convincing us of the truth of revelation shown forth in the person and ministry of Christ.
Of these two ideas, I'd like to spend some time thinking about convincing. Separating it into its component Latin roots, we arrive at “con” and “vincere”. Literally these mean "to conquer with". Indeed, Webster’s gives as one definition of convince: “to overpower or to overcome.”
Aside from providing gifts and graces from the life of the Trinity to us, the Holy Spirit also has a decidedly forensic role to play. I was a big fan of the show "Crime Scene Investigation", known as "C.S.I." Every Thursday at 9:00 pm, the team would come across varying circumstances that pointed to a violent crime having been committed. Just a quick glance around the scene is enough to tell you that somebody died in rather unfortunate circumstances. In the same way, a bit of honest self reflexion and examination is enough to tell us that we ourselves are far from perfect; and, in fact, are victims in our own right of the violence done to our souls and our relationships on account of our sins, our selfish tendencies and our egos. It doesn’t take any special theological knowledge or a gigantic mental leap to see this. Whether or not we acknowledge it, we are aware of our own faults.
The tricky part comes in trying to uncover and prove the events surrounding the scene. The C.S.I. team examines evidence, interviews witnesses and relies on past experience to reconstruct a timeline of events, track down potential suspects and determine the extent of innocence or guilt. The Spirit does much the same for us. He is our moral forensic team. He inspires us to learn and know the teaching of Christ (the “evidence”), the moral law and the deposit of holy tradition entrusted to the Church and the lives of the saints (the “witnesses”) and the extent of the injury we cause ourselves and others when we sin (an objective standard of guilt). All of these things fall under the category of ‘convincing.’
Of these two ideas, I'd like to spend some time thinking about convincing. Separating it into its component Latin roots, we arrive at “con” and “vincere”. Literally these mean "to conquer with". Indeed, Webster’s gives as one definition of convince: “to overpower or to overcome.”
Aside from providing gifts and graces from the life of the Trinity to us, the Holy Spirit also has a decidedly forensic role to play. I was a big fan of the show "Crime Scene Investigation", known as "C.S.I." Every Thursday at 9:00 pm, the team would come across varying circumstances that pointed to a violent crime having been committed. Just a quick glance around the scene is enough to tell you that somebody died in rather unfortunate circumstances. In the same way, a bit of honest self reflexion and examination is enough to tell us that we ourselves are far from perfect; and, in fact, are victims in our own right of the violence done to our souls and our relationships on account of our sins, our selfish tendencies and our egos. It doesn’t take any special theological knowledge or a gigantic mental leap to see this. Whether or not we acknowledge it, we are aware of our own faults.
The tricky part comes in trying to uncover and prove the events surrounding the scene. The C.S.I. team examines evidence, interviews witnesses and relies on past experience to reconstruct a timeline of events, track down potential suspects and determine the extent of innocence or guilt. The Spirit does much the same for us. He is our moral forensic team. He inspires us to learn and know the teaching of Christ (the “evidence”), the moral law and the deposit of holy tradition entrusted to the Church and the lives of the saints (the “witnesses”) and the extent of the injury we cause ourselves and others when we sin (an objective standard of guilt). All of these things fall under the category of ‘convincing.’
But I think as well that when we are told that the world will receive the reproof of the Spirit with regard to our sins, it is not to be understood as a catalogue of faults that He uncovers with the aim of inflicting some sort of judicial punishment or retribution. In fact, I think that is a terribly false construction that is highly detrimental both theologically and spiritually. Rather is it a means of exposing our wounds and brokenness so that they might be accessible to treatment and uncovering to bring about healing. Indeed, the Spirit of God is the very means by which our healing, our regeneration and the process of our redemption is brought about.
We are ‘convinced,’ we are ‘overpowered,’ we are ‘overcome’ by God’s Spirit not by any great show of force but by the gentle prodding of our conscience and our intellect. He is that inner fire that refines and purifies, but does not consume. Though they seem to be ever in high demand, now is not the time for great signs and wonders for we have already received the greatest sign of all in the death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ which we continue to celebrate especially during these fifty days.
One of the most universally acclaimed verses of Scripture illustrating this is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” How true that is. What can be forgotten is that it is a conditional statement, not an absolute guarantee regardless of the circumstances. To believe involves active and living faith, not passive receptivity via osmosis. Further on in the Epistle of St. James than we hear today, we read: "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." (James 1:22) The Spirit Who enlightens our faith is Himself active and not passive.
In summary, then. To believe is to die and rise in Christ. It is a whole new mode of life. To do this is impossible without receiving the ‘convincing’ of the Spirit of God. Once more, in the words of St. James: “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures….Therefore put away all filthiness and rank growth of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” (James 1: 18, 21). Who is it that has done this planting? It is the Spirit of God Himself. By this means He inspires, He convinces, and in the midst of the temporalities of suffering, death and false assurances He gives us the hopeful vision of Job. And finally, in the words of Garrison Keillor, He gives us “the strength to get up and do what needs to be done.”
One of the most universally acclaimed verses of Scripture illustrating this is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” How true that is. What can be forgotten is that it is a conditional statement, not an absolute guarantee regardless of the circumstances. To believe involves active and living faith, not passive receptivity via osmosis. Further on in the Epistle of St. James than we hear today, we read: "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." (James 1:22) The Spirit Who enlightens our faith is Himself active and not passive.
In summary, then. To believe is to die and rise in Christ. It is a whole new mode of life. To do this is impossible without receiving the ‘convincing’ of the Spirit of God. Once more, in the words of St. James: “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures….Therefore put away all filthiness and rank growth of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” (James 1: 18, 21). Who is it that has done this planting? It is the Spirit of God Himself. By this means He inspires, He convinces, and in the midst of the temporalities of suffering, death and false assurances He gives us the hopeful vision of Job. And finally, in the words of Garrison Keillor, He gives us “the strength to get up and do what needs to be done.”
No comments:
Post a Comment