Tuesday of the
Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
(Colossians 2:6-15; Luke 6:12-19)
Gnosticism may very well be the “empty, seductive
philosophy” mentioned in today’s passage from the Letter to the Colossians. This ancient practice held that spiritual
creation is inherently good while material creation is evil. Consequently, according to Gnostics, the body
is corrupt and concern for the body, trivial.
Nevertheless, some followers engaged in promiscuous sexual activity with
the justification that the best way of showing contempt for the body is to
flout the rules of morality.
The Letter to the Colossians looks to Christ as the way through
such charming ideas. His salvific death
on the cross confirms the value of the body.
More than that, it unites Jew and Greek by providing a common
forgiveness of sins. It liberates the
former from the guilt of failing to fulfill exactly the letter of the Law and the
latter from sexual libertinism.
The Letter urges its readers, which includes us, to hold
on to the faith. In ancient times, perhaps
no less than today, there were many spinoffs of apostolic teaching. Yet the Church remains its true interpreter. We can take pride in leaders like the recent
popes who are so kind, learned, and diligent.
But even when Church officials leave us embarrassed, the Holy Spirit
assures that its teachings chart for us the course of salvation.
