Live not as the gentiles do

Briefly describe yourself and your “life” before you had a personal relationship with Christ.

Read: 
Exodus 16:2-4,12-15
Psalm 78:3-4,23-25,54
Ephesians 4:17,20-24
John 6:24-35

Our call is to be light to the Gentiles. This includes being aware that Gentiles live lives apart from Christ, and we are not to follow them. “So I declare and testify in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds” (Eph 4:17). We are mindful that their lives are opposed to Christ. “That is not how you learned Christ, assuming that you have heard of him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus” (Eph 4:20-21). For us, we hear of Christ as we meet and get to know him, then we learn Christ and are taught in him and thus start to live Christ. At the core of this formation in Christ is knowledge of the truth that is Jesus and his teachings.

What is this transformation about? It is “that you should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.” (Eph 4:22-24).

• We put on a new life in Christ, away from the ways of the world to the ways of the Lord.

• We shun human desires that deceive us into a corrupted lifestyle.

• Our minds are renewed, thinking no longer as the world does.

• We become a new creation.

• We look to righteousness and holiness.

• We seek what is true.

For many Catholics today, this new way of life is threatened by the modernism that has seeped into the Church. This modernism is looking more to man than to God, more to the well-being of man even at the expense of the righteousness of God, looking to the mundane rather than the divine. This is reflected in the posture of the crowd who were looking for Jesus. Jesus told them that they were looking for him because they ate the loaves and were filled, but missed the signs in that miraculous deed (Jn. 6:26). Such is looking to be materially satisfied but not spiritually filled. Such is looking to one’s own human needs rather than the supernatural aspects of such needs being met. Such modernism is also reflected in the attitude of the Israelites, who grumbled against Moses due to the lack of food, missing out on the miraculous liberation they had just been given (Ex 16:3a). They were led to new life but could only think of their old life, totally missing the significance of their departure from Egypt. “But you have led us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of famine!” (Ex 16:3b). How blind can one be!

How is this modernism happening in our Church today? How is the focus on the well-being of man rather than the righteousness of God?

• Sinners are accepted without being called out on their sin.

• Pro-aborts are being given Communion without need for repentance.

• Homosexualists are coddled and gay unions are approved.

Modernism is countered by the truth of God. The truth is in Jesus, who has taught us. The world tries to overturn this truth, which we must vigorously resist.

• There are only two sexes, male and female.

• Men cannot become women, and vice versa.

• Homosexuality is intrinsically disordered, and homosexual acts are intrinsically evil.

• Abortion as a pro-life issue is not on the same level as immigration and climate change.

• One cannot be rabidly pro-abortion and still receive Holy Communion.

• Love the sinner but hate the sin.

The irony is that all the humanist acts end up not being for the well-being of man because they end up losing their souls. It is all about false mercy. As Jesus told the crowd, “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” (Jn 6:27a). Look not to yourself but to Jesus. Look not to your material needs but to the demands of the Kingdom. Do not end up perishing but strive for eternal life.

As false modernist teaching has come into the Church, all the more we need to be vigilant. We need to be informed and educated. We need to speak out prophetically. We need to form the next generations. “We do not keep them from our children; we recount them to the next generation, the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord and his strength, the wonders that he performed.” (Ps 78:4). We focus on God. We focus on His wondrous and miraculous deeds.

For discussion, answer the following questions:

1. What is your continuous transformation story from your “old self” to your “new self” who is created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness.

2. How are the issues of modernism affect your personal transformation?

As someone who has been transformed by the love of Christ, it’s time to make others experience it too. Name an individual or a couple that you should invite in the next CLS of your area.