In today’s First Reading Paul brands the immoral, the impure, and the greedy as “idolaters.” Where’s the false god? When we idolize these things, we make them our gods, sometimes imperceptibly, because we become enslaved to pleasure, money, or power and serve them instead of making them serve us in a moral and healthy way. This is no passing teen crush or talent competition, but a real enthrallment to creatures that were meant to help us draw closer to God.
The path starts when we make light of the very things that could spiritually destroy us, because we stop taking them or the consequences of abusing them seriously. Today’s entertainment often portrays the “bad boy,” the black sheep, the shady character as something cool, funny, or simply normal. Examples of virtue seem boring or are the butt of jokes. There’s no easy solution to this problem, but we can turn that television off and concentrate on being loving toward one another and toward God, just as Paul encourages us to do today.
If we imitate Our Lord we have nothing to fear, because his love for our Father is perfect. Let’s live as children of the light and leave any past darkness behind.
Readings: Ephesians 4:32–5:8; Psalm 1:1–4, 6; Luke 13:10–17. See also 30th Week in Ordinary Time, Monday.