Daily Retreat 09/02/08
2008 Sep 2 Tue: Ordinary Weekday
1 Cor 2: 10b-16/ Ps 144(145): 8-9. 10-11. 12-13ab. 13cd-14/ Lk 4: 31-37
From today’s readings: “We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God.... The Lord is just in all His ways.... He taught them on the Sabbath, and they were astonished at His teaching because He spoke with authority....”
The Spirit of God
In earlier verses in this letter, Paul has argued that the wisdom of God far surpasses even the best of human wisdom. Now, Paul explains how we have access to this divine wisdom: not by reading piles of musty volumes in some library, not by spending hours hanging on the words of any guru, but merely by being attentive and receptive to the words taught by the Spirit of God.
The actions and presence of the Holy Spirit transcend simple explanations, but Paul notes that, thanks to the Spirit, we can describe spiritual realities in spiritual terms. In these verses, Paul explains that the Spirit’s revelation is so generously complete that through His indwelling in us, “we have the mind of Christ.”
The immediate danger, of course, is to confuse our own desires and inclinations with the Spirit of God. To be sure, we can be directed by the Spirit of God, but we can also be misdirected by the Spirit of Evil. There’s solid ground for concluding, “The Holy Spirit led me out of the temptation to lie,” but it’s a much shakier claim to say, “The Holy Spirit inspired me to choose chocolate instead of vanilla,” or “The Holy Spirit told me to buy this stock.” Worse still, anyone who believes the Spirit of God condones certain personal immoralities has been thoroughly duped by the Spirit of Evil! Elsewhere in their letters, Paul and John offer essential guidelines for the discernment of spirits - as always, the whole of Scripture is the best safeguard against jumping to tempting conclusions based on only a few verses.
1 Cor 2: 10b-16/ Ps 144(145): 8-9. 10-11. 12-13ab. 13cd-14/ Lk 4: 31-37
From today’s readings: “We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God.... The Lord is just in all His ways.... He taught them on the Sabbath, and they were astonished at His teaching because He spoke with authority....”
The Spirit of God
In earlier verses in this letter, Paul has argued that the wisdom of God far surpasses even the best of human wisdom. Now, Paul explains how we have access to this divine wisdom: not by reading piles of musty volumes in some library, not by spending hours hanging on the words of any guru, but merely by being attentive and receptive to the words taught by the Spirit of God.
The actions and presence of the Holy Spirit transcend simple explanations, but Paul notes that, thanks to the Spirit, we can describe spiritual realities in spiritual terms. In these verses, Paul explains that the Spirit’s revelation is so generously complete that through His indwelling in us, “we have the mind of Christ.”
The immediate danger, of course, is to confuse our own desires and inclinations with the Spirit of God. To be sure, we can be directed by the Spirit of God, but we can also be misdirected by the Spirit of Evil. There’s solid ground for concluding, “The Holy Spirit led me out of the temptation to lie,” but it’s a much shakier claim to say, “The Holy Spirit inspired me to choose chocolate instead of vanilla,” or “The Holy Spirit told me to buy this stock.” Worse still, anyone who believes the Spirit of God condones certain personal immoralities has been thoroughly duped by the Spirit of Evil! Elsewhere in their letters, Paul and John offer essential guidelines for the discernment of spirits - as always, the whole of Scripture is the best safeguard against jumping to tempting conclusions based on only a few verses.
posted by FrPitstick | 8/31/2008
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