"Near the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God' (Mt. 5:8).
…
"The Old Testament tradition placed great importance on bathing — for example, washing one's hands before eating, or one's body after sexual relations. …
"This is not to say that the entire Old Testament ignores the interior demands of purity. The prophets continually called their people back to faithfulness of both heart and action. And King David prayed, 'Create in me a clean heart, O God' (Ps. 51:10. This is the true spirit of the Law, which finds fulfillment in Christ.
"Jesus completely overturns the external, ritual system of purity. Nothing from outside can make a man pure or impure, he says — only what is in the heart. The bodily aspects of our sexuality do not make a person 'dirty.' … According to Jesus, purity is a matter of the heart. All that is morally good is pure; all that is morally evil is impure.
"The human heart is the battleground between purity and impurity — or, as the Apostle John put it, between that which is of the Father and that which is of the world. In the writings of St. Paul, the struggle is put in terms of 'flesh' and 'Spirit' …. Once again, the heart is at stake:
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other. (Gal. 5:16-17)
"At this point in our reflections, let us redirect our focus from the Sermon on the Mount to the letters of St. Paul, seeking to learn how purity of heart is found in 'living by the Spirit.'"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment