First, Conversion. Then,
do the will of God
There are two important
themes discerned from the scripture readings of the 26th Sunday
in Ordinary Time, Year A, Ezekiel 18:25-28; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew
21:28-32. These are conversion to the way of God and working for the will of
God.
In fact, conversion to
the way of God and doing the will of God are sequentially related. In
order for us to do the will of God, we must first convert ourselves to the way
of God from the worldly and human ways. Therefore, conversion to the
way of God is a necessary condition to do the will of God.
When we hear the word,
“conversion”, many of us tend to think of changing religious affiliation. For
example, in regard to a person, who became Catholic after being Buddhist, we
call this person a convert to Catholicism. However, theologically, conversion means
turning our minds and hearts from ungodly way to the way of God and the will of
God. Usually, it is referred to turning away from sins and turning to God and
His way.
The word, “conversion”,
etymologically means “turning around”. It comes from the Latin word,
“convertere”, putting “com”(together) and “vertere”(to
turn). Thus, in the biblical context, conversion means to turn away from ways
of sins to the way of God and the will of God, together.
None of us are full of
grace, as Mary was, we all are sinners. As sinners, saying, “Kyrie, elaison”,
we always need the mercy of God to sustain our life and be entitled to
salvation. Thus, we all need conversions periodically through our life on earth
in order to stay on the course of salvation and to do the will of God. That is
why St. Ignatius of Loyola developed the Spiritual Exercises, especially
Examen, examination of conscience. The Spiritual Exercises guide us
not only to find what we need to convert ourselves from but also to discern the
will of God for us in dialogue with our own hearts’ desires. In
order for us to know what the will of God is and to do the will of God, we must
be in state of grace. Our heats must be in right place and fine-tuned to the
will of God through examining our conscience and conversion for us to do the
will of God effectively.
Finding the Will of God
before doing the will of God
In order for us to do
the will of God, we must know what the will of God really is. So,
what is it? What is the will of God? And, how can we find out what the will of
God is?
For us to discern the
will of God for us, we must get to know well about ourselves in relation to
God. Namely, we figure out what God’s will for us is through our respective
unique object relations to God.
As John 21:20-23 suggests,
the will of God is not the same to everyone. In this particular Gospel
narrative, the will of God for Peter is different from the will of God for
John. In the will of God, Peter’s way of glorifying God was to
culminate in his martyrdom. But, John’s way of glorifying God in a different
way. Because each of us is unique, the will of God may be different
from parson to person, given each individual is endowed with unique
gifts. The only way for us to discern what the particular will of
God for each of us is though cultivating our intimate trust-filled personal
relationship with God.
The will of God varies
from person to person, reflecting each person’s unique personality and
abilities. God has His special will for each person to grow into the fullness
in the mystery of the risen Christ. Psychologically, God’s will for a person
will facilitate his or her individuation process. In fact, conversion is an
essential part of this personal growth process, called individuation, into the
wholeness, fully in union with God through Christ. The Holy Spirit is the
guiding factor for this Christ-centric individuation process. Through
this Christian growth individuation process, we convert ourselves from
ego-centric being into Christ-centric being.
Through our individuation
process, which is also a conversion from ego-centered being into
Christ-centered being, we discover more about ourselves, while getting to know
more about God and our relationship with God. It is this process of
growth that we discern the will of God for each of us as we discover more about
gifts and talents, which God has bestowed upon.
Though there is no
one-fit-for-all kind of universal formula to figure out what the will of God
for each of us is, I believe that the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of
Loyola is very helpful in discerning it. The Spiritual Exercises direct us in a
dialectic process between our hearts’ desires and God’s wills toward
synchronization of these desires for the purpose of Ad Majorem Dei
Gloriam (for the greater glory of God).
In discerning the will
of God – God’s desire for us – to be synchronized with our hearts’ desires,
while getting to know more about our unique gifts and talents to be utilized to
do the will of God, the Spiritual Exercises follows a life path of Jesus. As we
walk on the path of Jesus’ life we visit experiences of Jesus, as well as his
teachings to discern the will of God. Though this discernment
process, we come to realize that love as agape is the bottom
line in the will of God. We realize that doing the will of God is to emulate
the love that Jesus taught as his “mandatum novum” in John 13:34 – to
love one another as he has loves us. It is, after all, doing this will of God –
to love one another as Jesus has loved us – is also our apostolic identity
(John 13:35). We just need to figure out how we can follow this “mandatum
novum” of Jesus in our doing of the will of God, as we know more
about our unique gifts and talents given by God, as well as our hearts’
desires.
A practical way to do
the will of God as our observance of Jesus’ “mandatum novum” , to love
one another as Jesus has loved, is to practice the spiritual and corporal works
of mercy for Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam. This also reflects
the cardinal rule in Catholic moral theology: preferential option for the poor,
as well as the pastoral principle of “hombres para los demas” (persons for
others), by Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J.. There is no room for selfishness
in doing the will of God, as our conversions help us to move toward
Christ-centric being from ego-centric being. This is how we work in
God’s vineyard and to produce abundant fruits.
Some of us may not feel
like doing the will of God, as one of the sons did not say “Yes” to his
father’s request to work in his vineyard. But, he changed his mind, meaning
that he went through conversion, and actually worked in the vineyard. Likewise,
as we convert our hearts and mind from ego-centric being to Christ-centric
being, we will go to God’s vineyard and do some good work there to produce good
fruits.
Even great figures in
the Old Testament, such as Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, did not respond with
“Yes” when God first called them to work for Him. They were reluctant and had
their own excuses for not being in the mood to do the will of God then. But,
they overcame their reluctance and convert themselves to the will of God, with
the help of God’s grace.
Jonah was even so
rebellious to the will of God for him, as he ran away from God in response to
His call to do the will of God. But, no matter how stubborn he was at first.
Jonah also went through conversion and did the will of God assigned to him,
converting sinners in Nineva. Jonah’s conversion took place inside a
big fish (Johan 2).
When Mary first received
a call to do the will of God during the Annunciation, she became anxious, as
she did not understand the will of God that Angel Gabriel told her. Mary’s
initial reaction to the will of God for her, which is to become pregnant with
and give birth to the Son of God, was not a resounding “Yes”. Her
immediate response was, “How can this be, since I have no relation with a
man” (Luke 1:34). But, with a bit more assuring explanation of
God through Angel Gabriel, Mary accepted God’s invitation to do His will and
said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according
to your word”(Luke 1:37).
After all, we are
instruments of peace, as St. Francis of Assisi has prayed for. We are, in fact,
instruments of the will of God to be done – for the will of God to be done on
earth, as it is in heaven, as taught by Jesus during his sermon on the mount
(Matthew 6:10).
In dong the will of God,
we also need to surrender. Unless we surrender ourselves to the will
of God, it cannot be done on earth as it is in heaven. In fact, Jesus has
taught this through his own examples.
Going through the
Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, in the section of “The Mysteries
of the Life of Christ Our Lord”, under the Third Method of Prayer, there is a
section, “Of the Mysteries of the Garden”. There, we mediate deeply with Christ
in the Garden of Agony in Gethsemane. And, we hear these words of Jesus’
intense and agonizing prayer, preparing himself to the path to the Calvary.
My Father, if it is
possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will but as you will. Matthew 26:39
Jesus himself knew what
the fill of the Father was for him. And, as his own prayer shows, it was not
easy even for him to do the will of God – the will of the Father. But, he
accepted the cup, the cup of suffering, for our salvation, so that the prophesy
of Isaiah 52-53 is fulfilled.
These last seven words
of Jesus, powerfully remind us that dong the will of God means a complete
submission not only of our egos but our whole selves, as Jesus did himself on
the Cross:
Father, into your hands
I commend my spirit. Luke
23:46
Jesus accepted the cup
and submitted himself completely to the will of the Father out of his love. As
Karl Rahner argues, this is ultimately God’s way of self-communication,
communicating His immeasurable agape to us.
As disciples of Christ,
believer of God in trinity, we are called to do the will of God. Thus, we must
convert our way into God’s way, taking a lesson from Ezekiel 18:25-28 (the
first reading for the 26th Sunday A), so that we can
do the will of God, not just making empty promises about it, taking a lesson
from Matthew 21:28-32 (the Gospel reading for the 26th Sunday
A).
Now is the Time to Take
Action!
So, when do we do the
will of God? When is the best time to do the will of God?
It is NOW!
In the parable, the
father asked his two sons to work in the vineyard today (Matthew 21:28, 30). In
other words, God wants us to do His will NOW – not to delay. This is
similar to the fact that Jesus wants us to become his disciple NOW. He does not
want us to wait until we have a free time to follow him and to do the will of
God.
It is important to note
that we follow Christ and do the will of God right now and right here. For
this reason, our conversion must take place right now and right here. Try
not delay until we are “ready”.
In Luke 9:57-62, Jesus
reminds us that we must start doing the will of God NOW, as he did not permit a
man, who expressed his desire to become his disciple, to wait until
his father dies and bury him. Jesus demanded him to follow him right at that
moment.
After all, when the time
of the judgement comes, we do not want to cry out to Jesus, as in Matthew
25:31-46. If we failed to convert ourselves, discern and do the will of God,
before it is too late, then, we would be crying, “Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to
drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and
invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in
prison, and come to You?” (Matthew
25:37-39).
In meditating on Ezekiel
18:25-28 and Matthew 21:28-32 (the readings from the 26th Sunday
in Ordinary Time Year A), let us also reflect on these words of Jesus:
“Not everyone who
says to me, ‘ Lord, Lord’, will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one
who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on
that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out
demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will
declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers”
(Matthew 7:21-23).
James also reminds us
that faith without work is dead (James 2:17). It means that simply professing
our faith, simply saying “Yes” to the will of God, is not good enough. We must
actually do the work for what we say “Yes” to – the will of God, which includes
doing the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Furthermore, Paul
teaches that doing the will of God must be out of our love – not out of
obligatory feeling, in the following words:
If I speak with the tongues
of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or
a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know
all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as
to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give
all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to
be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Love is
patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is
not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its
own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does
not rejoice inunrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all
things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love
never fails; but if there are gifts of [c]prophecy,
they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there
is knowledge, it will be done away. 1 Corinthians 13:1-8
Doing the will of God is
acting with our love, doing the works of our love, as Jesus has loved us, as
God so loved the world (John 3:16).
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