The words of the Scriptures are not shy about challenging our earthly wisdom. They so very often contradict what we are so earnestly sure of, even certain about, in our own minds. The inspired word of God is often troubling because it challenges the often castle-like ramparts of our egos. It gets under our skin. If we are truly trying to follow Jesus, the scriptures can sometimes prick our conscience and force us to look within. As is true in all difficult challenges, if we face them and learn from them, with God’s grace, we always come out wiser and stronger.
This, of course, is not a new story. It has been humanity’s experience from the beginning. The reality of the individual and the corporate (group) ego has always been our blind spot, our Achilles’ Heel. Today’s world is no different. The Apostle James addresses this in the 3rd chapter of his Epistle in the following way: “Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show his works by a good life in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. Wisdom of this kind does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice” Jas. 3: 13-16).
Do we not see this kind of behavior all around us? Has it not become so familiar as to be thought the norm? We experience the negative, dark, divisive, and destructive consequences of rampant jealousy and selfish ambition daily. Indeed, is it not the struggle within our own hearts? We see it in our families, in our neighborhoods, our cities, in our domestic and international relations, and, yes, even within the Church. Why? Because the ‘wisdoms’ being appealed to are earthbound, and by the fact of our fallen humanity, they are tainted by our own limited, flawed, and often rationalized ‘understandings’. The natural consequence of such behavior is division, not just disagreement, but divisions that become so profound that those on either side forget the humanity of the other. When this happens, injustice and cruelty are all too often rationalized as a ‘good’ means to some perceived ‘good’ end. Wherever there is division, there is the devil.
On the other hand, the Apostle James continues his exhortation with these words: “But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace” (vs. 17-18). If we are following Jesus, paying attention to, praying over, and daily trying to practice the wisdom of God found in the scriptures and the life of Christ, our lives will grow to be filled with purity and peace. If we make a daily effort to practice the gentleness of the Gospel, if we humbly try to submit our will, our ego, to the will of God, he will give us the graces we need to become more merciful, less judgmental, and more righteous. In practicing the wisdom of heaven, we will become catalysts, better examples of the Christ life to those around us. Wherever there is love, there is the fruitfulness of God and all that is good.
Peace is God’s gift to those who fear him. Who are those who fear him? They are those who know their own sinfulness, who are humble enough to know that, alone, they are limited by their own ignorance and their own egos. Knowing this, they put their trust in God, who is love and mercy unbounded. They are those who have come to know that sinful self-righteousness is the real cause of all of our divisions. If we live in an environment marked by division, it is we who have created it, or who have remained indifferent to it. Divisions are not one-sided affairs. They begin, are sustained, and reach their culminating evils through the mutual participation of all the parties involved.
All division is the foul and poisonous fruit of The Liar: hatred, mistrust, violence, war, and death. They are the product of earthly, not heavenly, wisdom. It is Jesus’ fervent “High Priestly Prayer” in John’s Gospel, “…that all of them (followers of Christ) may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that You have sent me” (Jn. 17:21). Here Jesus is expressing his desire for spiritual unity among believers. He is expressly addressing us Christians. If we are divided, how can we show the world that the Father sent his Only Begotten Son into the world to save us from sin and death once and for all, forever?
Let us pray for the grace to keep our eyes on the things above; on the way, the truth, and the life of Jesus Christ, so that wherever there is division we may be instruments of his true justice, mercy, and peace. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
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