Thursday of the
Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
(Romans 8:31b-39; Luke 13:31-35)
Fr. Joseph Fitzmyer, S.J., was one of St. Paul’s best
commentators during the twentieth century.
He wrote widely-read studies on Paul’s theology, his Letter to the
Romans, as well as other New Testament works.
His discussion of today’s passage is interesting for what it does not
say. Rather than exult the passage as
one of the greatest inspirational pieces of the Bible, he seems to downplay it
as “rhetorical” with “(n)o little emotional language.”
Paul is summing up the theme of Romans 8. Christians are at war with the flesh pulling in
the way of death and opposite way to life.
It would be a hopeless struggle without the Spirit of Christ strengthening
our resolve from within. As difficult as
the struggle can become, nothing -- Paul writes in today’s passage -- can
separate us from Christ. Full redemption
is on the way. Christians must not give
up the fight.
The war that Paul describes is as much a reality today as
in his time. Sexual excess, encouraged by
libertinism, consumes individuals and destroys families. We look to Christ as a model and, more
importantly, as the source of resistance.
Giving ourselves over to him will bring victory in the struggle and
peace in the heart.
