Daybreaks: Daily Reflections for Lent & Easter
by Ron Rolheiser, OMI

“Be merciful, just as [also] your Father is merciful”.

(LUKE 6:36)

“In the letters of St. Paul, the apostle makes a distinction between life in the flesh as opposed to life in the Spirit.

Life in the flesh is characterized by lewd conduct, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, bickering, jealousy, outbursts of rage, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factionalism, envy, drunkenness, and orgies (see Galatians 5:16-21). When these exist in our lives, Paul cautions, we may not delude ourselves into thinking we are living inside of God’s spirit.

‘In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law’ (Galatians 5:22-23). It is only when these qualities are manifest in our lives that we may understand ourselves as walking in true discipleship.

For Paul, the litmus test for discipleship is not a single moral issue but rather whole way of living that radiates more love than selfishness, more joy than bitterness, more peace than factionalism, more patience and respect than negative judgment and gossip, more empathy than anger, and more willingness to sweat the blood of sacrifice than to give in to the temptations of the moment.

Christian discipleship is not just about our actions; it’s also about our hearts. The essence of Christian discipleship lies in putting on the heart of Christ. Proper morality, defense of truth, and life-giving Church practices follow from that – and, when rooted in that, they become respectful, forgiving, and loving” (16).