Thursday, October 24, 2019

Thursday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

(Romans 6:19-23; Luke 12:49-53)

The ancient city of Pompeii was buried under a river of volcanic lava in 79 A.D.  Then in the late 1800s, it was uncovered to give a three-dimensional snapshot of life in the Roman Empire.  The view is not always edifying.  One house has a statuette of a boy lifting his phallus with the opening of the gate to salute a visitor.  Perhaps even more than people today, Romans were obsessed with sex.  For this reason St. Paul, writing not long before Pompeii disappeared, comments to the Romans on sexual license.

In general Paul’s letters indicate that many people became Christians as a way out of sexual enslavement.  Christianity provides a support group to help people cope with an oversexed environment. It also promises the grace of the Holy Spirit to pursue a virtuous life.  Paul emphasizes in today’s reading another reason to forego extramarital sex.  He writes that the effect of sexual sin is death in contrast to eternal life Christianity offers.

Sex, like all creation, is a natural good for which we should thank God.  However, it has been corrupted through sin so that it now appears as much a threat as a benefit.  For this reason we need to be careful about our dealings with it.  We should not think of sexual intimacy as inherently impure or sinful. Yet we cannot declare it good outside marriage.

Friday, November 7, 2014

Friday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time

(Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 16:1-8)

On a tour of the restored Pompeii the guide stopped in front of a house to point out an adornment.  It was a statue of a man which when the gate to the yard opened touched exposed the representation of a giant phallus.  Obviously, the stimulus for such crudeness did not die out with antiquity but remains strong today.  St. Paul’s warning in the first reading today is as valid now as two thousand years ago.

Paul urges his readers not to copy the ways of the pagan majority.  He sees the obsession with fine dining and the ubiquitous references to sex in Greek society as anti-Christian.  Disciples of Jesus, he would say, do not belong to such a realm.  According to him, their homeland is the kingdom of God which is still to come in fullness.  For now, he would recommend that they only to comply with the laws of the land like mindful immigrants but not its mores.  They are to receive directives for living from the gospel.

Today, in part because of the success of Christianity to humanize the world, we find many positive elements in secular society.  To be sure, we must proceed prudently.  Still, we can actively participate in social affairs without undue worry of contamination.  Indeed, the Second Vatican Council promoted such engagement.  It called especially lay people to prepare the world for the coming of God’s kingdom in its fullness.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Thursday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

(Romans 6:19-23; Luke 12:49-53)

The ancient city of Pompeii was buried under a river of volcanic lava in 79 A.D. and left unseen for 1700 years. When it was uncovered, the world had a snapshot of life in the Roman Empire. One house, by no means extraordinary, has a statuette of a boy lifting his phallus with the opening of the gate to salute the visitor. Perhaps even more than people today, Romans were obsessed with sex. For this reason St. Paul, writing not long before ancient Pompeii was buried, can address the perniciousness of sexual license.

Paul’s letters and, to some extent, the gospels leave the impression that many early Christians were and found Christianity as a way out of sexual enslavement. Christianity not only provides a support group to help one overcome lascivious desires but also the grace of the Holy Spirit to pursue a virtuous life. Paul emphasizes in today’s reading another reason to forego immoral sexual actions. He writes that the outcome of sexual sin is death in contrast to eternal life which Christian discipleship offers.

Sex, like all creation, is a natural good for which we give God thanks and praise. It has been corrupted, however, through sin with universal enslaving potential. For these reasons we are cautious about our approach to sex. We should not think of intimate sexual relations as inherently foul or dirty, yet we cannot proclaim it as a good outside marriage.