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Jeffrey Caperton
wrote:
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Hi, guys —
I am a 50-year-old Catholic living in California
who has always had a difficult time reconciling
the teachings I read in the New Testament
with the real world; more precisely,
Christians in the real world. Consider Matthew 6, verses
25 through 34 (Quoted below) and then consider
the relentless pursuit of the American
Dream and the rampant consumerism that
dominates our Christian culture as much as
secular culture, often with the apparent blessing
of the Christian culture and even priests.
- How does one reconcile this?
25 Therefore I tell you, do not be
anxious about your life, what you shall
eat or what you shall drink, nor about
your body, what you shall put on. Is not
life more than food, and the body more
than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of
the air: they neither sow nor reap nor
gather into barns, and yet your heavenly
Father feeds them. Are you not of more
value than they? 27 And which of you by
being anxious can add one cubit to his
span of life? 28 And why are you anxious
about clothing? Consider the lilies of
the field, how they grow; they neither
toil nor spin; 29 yet I tell you, even
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed
like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes
the grass of the field, which today is
alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven,
will he not much more clothe you, O men
of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be
anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?' or
`What shall we drink?' or `What shall we
wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek all these
things; and your heavenly Father knows
that you need them all. 33 But seek first
his kingdom and his righteousness, and
all these things shall be yours as well. 34 "Therefore do not be anxious about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious
for itself. Let the day's own trouble be
sufficient for the day.
Matthew 6:25-34 |
Jeffrey
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{
How
does one reconcile Matthew's Do Not Worry passages with the pursuit of the American
Dream? }
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Eric
replied:
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Hi, Jeff —
You don't.
It's wrong to pursue a consumerist
lifestyle.
Just because you see Christians not
living out the Gospel doesn't invalidate
the Gospel, anymore than seeing citizens
committing crimes invalidates the
law.
The reason people don't live out
the gospel is sin, or specifically,
concupiscence: our fallen nature
that tends us toward sin. We don't
want to live out the Gospel in our
natural state. That's why so few
do.
It takes grace and resolve to
live out the Gospel. For most, it's
easier to give into the world but
the fact that they do, should not
affect the determination of true
followers of Christ to live it out. If the Christian life were easy,
it would not be very meritorious
to live it but the Gospel is the
antidote to sin, for those who cooperate
with God's grace.
The Gospel is a supremely high standard.
We all fall short of it, some more
than others. If it were easy, we'd
meet it handily and then we would
have nowhere else to grow, and we
would stagnate.
Gandhi is reported to have said when
asked what he thought about Christian
civilization,
I think it would be a good
idea.
And when asked his opinion of Christianity,
I like your Christ; I do
not like your Christians. Your
Christians are so unlike your
Christ.
Sadly, it's true, but it doesn't
mean that the teachings of Christ
aren't true, nor that we shouldn't
strive to follow them.
Remember when you were young and
all your friends were doing something
dubious and you wanted to join in
and your mother said,
If all
your friends jumped off a cliff,
would you do it too?
The same
principle applies. The failure of
Christians to live out the Gospel
is an embarrassment but not proof
that Christianity is not true.
Eric
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Paul
replied:
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Dear Jeffrey,
I love the passage you quoted precisely
because it flies in the face of our
culture.
Every society on earth is tainted
with sin just as every individual
person is — original sin as
well as personal sins. With ours,
of course, it is easy to see that
money and sex are places that we're
far away from the Gospel. The real world you speak of is a world
that is off-kilter and in need of
redemption. It is our role as Christians
to bring Christ into the world to
fix it without discouragement, and
to sacrifice in the process. Mother
Teresa once said,
Christ doesn't call me to
be successful, He calls me to
be faithful.
It seems to me this is the attitude
of a saint, of which we are all called
to be, and the challenge of being
Christian.
Having said that, we know it is not
easy to resist the lure and the flow
of the world around us but Christ
said, I have overcome the world (John
16:33), and invites us, by His grace,
to do the same.
It is the grace part
of that sentence which is indispensable.
A regular regimen of the Eucharist
and Confession, as well as prayer
and charity, keep a person strong
in God's grace and — If God
is with you, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)
Peace,
Paul
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Jeff
replied:
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Thanks guys!
A little over a year ago, I was in
a situation where I was essentially
betrayed by a couple of individuals
whose opinions actually meant something
to me. The situation has left me
hurt, humiliated, angry, and lately,
wishing to exact some sort of revenge.
The thoughts of revenge are something
that I will most likely not pursue
but it occupies my thoughts constantly
in increasing intervals.
The problem is that I want to forgive,
forget and move on, yet my thoughts
will not let me. I pray morning and
evening (the Liturgy of the Hours),
read "inspirational" books and, recently, Bernadette Soubirous has replaced Francis of Assisi as my hero because
of her passive attitude toward suffering
and humiliation.
As it is, while thoughts of suicide
no longer dominate my thinking. I
am constantly a very angry man and
my wife is feeling the effects of
this. I need to get over it and
move on but this is easier said
than done. Not to mention the fact
that, as a Christian, I need to forgive.
- Do you have any suggestions?
Jeff
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Eric
replied:
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Hi, Jeff —
We tend to focus more on apologetics
and answering questions about what
we believe rather than offering pastoral
advice or counseling, but what I
might say is pray specifically for
the people who betrayed you and don't
merely pray that they repent or apologize
or anything that would be
self-serving. Pray for their well-being
(both spiritual and temporal) and
for their conversion.
This is an act of love that will
overcome hatred. Do this whenever
you:
- get angry
- wish vengeance on them, or
- are in any way disturbed by what
they did.
Find any way to love them in an unconditional
way. You don't have to like them
or want to be friends with them again,
just desire their well-being and
what is good for them.
Eric
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Paul
replied:
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Jeff,
I would also pray for the grace to
truly forgive. Without grace it may
not be possible.
Also remember that one can forgive
and still have residual feelings
of anger and hurt. That is natural;
as long as we don't intentionally
harbor these feelings or seek to
take revenge.
Paul
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Mary
Ann replied:
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Hi, Jeff —
My colleagues have given excellent
teaching. I would like to add one
thing: articulate to the Lord, perhaps
in writing before the Blessed Sacrament:
- what the people did
- how it hurt
you, and
- how you feel.
Pour out your
heart to the Lord. He can't heal
what we don't give to Him. Tell Him what happened very particularly and
ask for His Viewpoint. He will affirm
and clarify and give a viewpoint
on the injury done to you in ways
you cannot imagine, and will address
the injury and give you insight,
wisdom, and the grace to act on it.
Try not to repress, ignore, or not
act on your anger from within in.
Let it out the right way:
Bring your complaint to the Lord
in the Blessed Sacrament and Confession.
He will answer.
Mary Ann
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