The Mystery of Divine Life
MONDAY, Easter week
seven: May 9, 2016
The Responsorial Psalm celebrates Christ’s
victory over sin and death (and all the consequences of sin, the chief of which
is death): “Sing to God, O kingdoms of
the earth” (Psalm 68).
Acts 19: 1-8 makes clear the difference
between the human gesture of repentance that John’s baptism was and the divine
act of regeneration that sacramental Baptism is. The key to the difference is mystery.
Both
baptisms are human gestures, human expressions of “repentance,” of a “change of
mind.” Both are human acts of commitment. And God inspires and blesses any
human expression of response to him.
But
sacramental Baptism is a mystery of transformation — not just on the level of
human choice and actions, but on the level of life itself: a transformation of
our being. By sacramental Baptism we
are incorporated into Jesus Christ. We become members of the Body of God the
Son. As St. Augustine expressed it, we “become Christ.” This makes us what he
is: children of God the Father, filii in
Filio, “sons and daughters in the Son.” And the third Person of the Blessed
Trinity, the Holy Spirit, is poured out into our hearts to “be with us forever”
(John 14:16). Sacramental Baptism —
Baptism “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19) is a mystery of God
acting with divine power to give us a share in his own divine, eternal life.
That is what “grace” is: the “favor” of participating in the divine life of
God. By grace we become not just human but divine.
This is
a “mystery,” a truth our human minds can never grasp completely, but which we
keep growing into: a truth that “invites endless exploration.” The Holy Spirit,
the “Spirit of Truth,” is given to lead us into greater and greater
understanding. Jesus promised, “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I
have said to you” (see John 14:16,
26; 15:26). This is the fruit of Christ’s victory on the cross: “Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.”
John 16: 29-33 calls us to believe in that
victory even in our darkest hours. Jesus had to do this when his disciples all
“scattered,” leaving him alone. What sustained him was his conviction: “Yet I
am not alone because the Father is with me.” And Jesus is with us, even when we
feel abandoned and alone. This is our lifeline in every doubt and difficulty:
“In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!”
“Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth,”
Christ has conquered!
Initiative: Be a prophet.
Consciously live
and act as Christ’s risen body.
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