Clinging to the desire for heaven rather than earth
Reflections on the readings for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (August 4, 2019): ECC 1:2, 2:21-23; PS 90:3-4,5-6,12-13,14,17; COL 3:1-5,9-11; LK 12:13-21
MISSIO offers “Mission In Scripture” to nurture a missionary heart, providing reflections on the missionary themes in the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days
So often we allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by our past, and by our desire for what is worldly, instead of heavenly.
We know that God wants us to do good, to be good, to be His. Yet we tend to cling to old ways of thinking about life and about who we are and what we are called to become. We sometimes forget that we belong to our Lord who has rescued us from sin and saved us from death. “If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.… You have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self…in the image of the creator.… Christ is all and in all” (Colossians 3:1-2, 9-11).
Christ is all and in all. We need to remember this every day, particularly when we are tempted to choose what is harmful to our soul, our body – our whole being. Through Baptism we turned away from the world, the flesh and the devil, and toward God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Now we need to allow God’s grace to continually fill us with His love and goodness. We need to say, “Yes!” to His mercy. Then we will truly be alive, for now and eternity.
Suggested missionary action: This week we can focus on one fault or temptation that we have trouble shaking. We can ask the Holy Spirit to give us the strength and perseverance to follow more closely in the way of Christ – and not to give in to discouragement.
