On Living Together Well

From Daily Office lectionary for today

Romans 12: 9-21

9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18 If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." 20 No, "if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

I used bold to emphasize some of the verses. The verses where Paul is quoting Jesus' teaching (as found in the Jewish Scriptures) and is challenging us all to a way of living which is foreign to every impulse and desire of our hearts.

I recommend Orthodox Psychotherapy by Bishop Hierotheos, who has been a bishop the last twenty three years. It is a handbook on theosis as understood by the Ancient and Eastern church. Psychotherapy in Greek means soul/spirit healing. I have slowly read the book the last two years and am in my third read through. 

It calls us to pursue union with God. Until we are united with God, our values and efforts to do right are going to be fatally flawed. Our mind is "darkened" and we need the Light of Truth (Jesus) to heal us. Our heart is attached to the wrong things, or the right things in a wrong way; these 'passions' or hurtful, sinful desires need to be forgiven and healed. Until that happens, any efforts to bring justice will always be impacted by our selfishness and sinfulness. In other words, Christians will battle each other, even to the death, in the name of Jesus. We do not fully know the truth, but we still impose our faith on one another. 

In every conversation between people of good will, the first task is defining terms. What do I mean by justice, peace, racism, fairness, honesty, etc. This is not semantics, nor is it avoiding the issue. It is just clarifying things so we can engage in the hard work of living together. Many conflicts are the result of people using language in different ways, or coming to different conclusions based on faulty assumptions. Remember the biblical "mind/soul" or nous, includes the functions of perceiving, thinking, feeling, understanding and judging. None of these is totally trustworthy because we are all malfunctioning and we do not always know how. This produces dangerous conflicts. This why even good people do great damage, and why conflicts quickly escalate into uncontrolled rage.  

The renewal of our mind, for which Paul advocates, entails the sort of attitude and behaviors found in the reading today: Genuine love for the other, especially the other with whom I disagree. The unhealed mind and heart are incapable of it and none of us will achieve it on this planet, but we can begin each day to guard our thoughts and hold them to the light of Jesus. We can be aware of the movements within our own souls and the need for constant repentance. It is difficult to say the least, and few of us are inclined to do it, or good at it even when we choose to do it.

The dilemma is in the current unpleasantness people are going after each other in vicious ways. There is actual emotional and physical harm. People are destroying the lives of others, and often times feel morally superior in the process. The human reaction to such threats is to respond in kind. Can we learn from Paul (who was often beaten and died a martyr) who is preaching the Crucified Jesus? Can those who claim Christ also embrace His willingness to forgive all, to love all, even as He challenges each one to convert and believe?

My guess is the passions (fear, anger, resentment, greed, envy, etc.) make it difficult to even try. Today, reading Romans, I experienced my daily reminder that I have far to go in this journey of faith. I was reminded that the world will be a better place if I simply do what I am told to do in this reading.