Daily Retreat 05/09/09
2009 May 9 Sat:Easter Weekday
Acts 13:44-52/ Ps 97(98):1. 2-3ab. 3cd-4/ Jn 14:7-14
From today’s readings: “ The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.... All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God.... Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me?”
Lost Chance
A healthy tension exists throughout scripture between, on the one hand, God’s patience and eagerness to receive those who welcome Him, but, on the other hand, the tragic finality of the real omnipresent possibility (guaranteed by free will) for a person to ultimately reject God.
The temptation is to resolve that tension by either the sin of presumption (arrogant over-reliance on God’s mercy, sometimes to the point of explicitly rejecting the possibility of damnation), or the sin of despair (premature dismissal of God’s mercy, and total lack of hope in regards to either personal salvation or the salvation of others).
Taken as a whole, scripture insists on testifying to this tension up to a man’s last breath, but admittedly there are passages, particularly in the Acts of the Apostles, such as Paul and Barnabas’ denunciation of the jealous Jews in Pisidia, in which a judgment of resolution is pronounced. As harsh as these words appear, it can be argued that they are not equivalent to the divine judgment of eternal salvation. Are you and I ever justified in making such a judgment of ourselves or others? Since God alone is judge, the answer is NO, as scripture explicitly affirms (e.g., Matthew 7:1). However, that does not entitle us to deflate the tension by casting out all moral reasoning into the murky waters of agnosticism and skepticism! Our God-given consciences, intelligence, and revelation are meant to be used in assessing the morality of our own actions (and even the actions of others, to a certain point), but God has not granted any of us the right to judge the eternal salvation of ourselves or any others living on earth!
Acts 13:44-52/ Ps 97(98):1. 2-3ab. 3cd-4/ Jn 14:7-14
From today’s readings: “ The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.... All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God.... Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me?”
Lost Chance
A healthy tension exists throughout scripture between, on the one hand, God’s patience and eagerness to receive those who welcome Him, but, on the other hand, the tragic finality of the real omnipresent possibility (guaranteed by free will) for a person to ultimately reject God.
The temptation is to resolve that tension by either the sin of presumption (arrogant over-reliance on God’s mercy, sometimes to the point of explicitly rejecting the possibility of damnation), or the sin of despair (premature dismissal of God’s mercy, and total lack of hope in regards to either personal salvation or the salvation of others).
Taken as a whole, scripture insists on testifying to this tension up to a man’s last breath, but admittedly there are passages, particularly in the Acts of the Apostles, such as Paul and Barnabas’ denunciation of the jealous Jews in Pisidia, in which a judgment of resolution is pronounced. As harsh as these words appear, it can be argued that they are not equivalent to the divine judgment of eternal salvation. Are you and I ever justified in making such a judgment of ourselves or others? Since God alone is judge, the answer is NO, as scripture explicitly affirms (e.g., Matthew 7:1). However, that does not entitle us to deflate the tension by casting out all moral reasoning into the murky waters of agnosticism and skepticism! Our God-given consciences, intelligence, and revelation are meant to be used in assessing the morality of our own actions (and even the actions of others, to a certain point), but God has not granted any of us the right to judge the eternal salvation of ourselves or any others living on earth!
posted by FrPitstick | 5/07/2009
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