WORLDLINESS

Worldliness keeps on nagging the serious follower of Jesus: “Be comfortable, seek all securities, enjoy every inch of life, grab all opportunities to enjoy. Conform to the lifestyle of the rich and the famous—glamorous parties, fancy cars, exclusive clubs, top-of-the-line condo unit. By all means, escape from pain and suffering. Happiness means ‘wine, women and song’ remember?”

Our Blessed Lord has repeatedly foretold the time would come when He would go up to Jerusalem where the Jewish religious leaders would make Him suffer and eventually put Him to death, but on the third day He will rise again (Matthew 16:21, 17:20-23, 20:17-19). At one time, St. Peter reprimanded our Lord: “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you” (Matthew: 16:22).

Jesus reprimanded him: “Get behind me, Satan!” (Matthew 16:23). Can you imagine how St. Peter must have felt? And why did He call Peter Satan? A kind of unkind?

It is because Jesus could only recall how Satan tempted Him in the beginning of His public ministry, how the father of lies promised to give the earthly kingdom on one condition, that is, Jesus foregoes His passion and death (Luke 4:1-13).

           

When Jesus was very hungry after fasting for forty days and forty nights, Satan dexterously asked Him to turn the stone into bread. He tempted Him by saying: “You are hungry, give in to your desires. Remember that hunger is a basic instinct needing to be satisfied. In the same manner, your sexual desires as well as your instincts need to be satisfied. Indulge and appease them. You cannot win the world if you suppress them. Gratify your urges, then you become a real person. Do what the world is telling you!”

All the world was against was His impending crucifixion, a way of the cross, a shameful torture, a painful death. Our Lord’s last temptation was the cry of the people at Calvary: “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself by coming down from the cross” (Mark 15:29-30).

Jesus’ standard is far different, in fact, the exact opposite of the worldly standard. Time and again we need to remind ourselves that the glorious celebration of Easter is not possible without the penitential preparation of Lent and Good Friday. There is no resurrection unless we go through our own crucifixion and death.

God wanted to save the world by going against its very own standard. The worldly criterion is to pamper life with all sorts of embellishments, convenience, comfort, gratification, and pleasure. On a higher level, in Christian discipleship, to gain life means to spend it, like melting candle wax that gives light in the dark.

When some friends were beseeching a missionary to take things easier and not to work himself to death, he simply said: “It is better to burn out than to rust out.”

THE STANDARD OF JESUS

     

The worldly archetype of a great person is he who manipulates and controls others, wielding such great power and influence. During the time of Christ, the great men were the Emperor who was thought to be a god, the Roman governor with his retinue of slaves, and the Roman senators with their legislative powers. The world  venerated them as invincible, probably even as immortal.

Today, in capital centers all over the globe, the world continues to assess an individual’s greatness by the number of rank and file he controls, by his intellectual and academic achievements, by the number of working committees he heads, the number of boards he chairs, or by the size of his bank accounts and credit lines. Using our blessed Lord’s standards, however, these things count as nothing. They shrink into oblivion. They are definitely irrelevant and insignificant.

Jesus is the greatest prophet, way above all others before Him. Those who came before Him were the messengers of God, and for being God’s servants, no one could deny them honor. Jesus, however, was not only the Messenger but also God’s Message, the Word made Flesh (Jn. 1:1-18). He is greater than Abraham, Moses, Elijah, David, and St. John the Baptist combined. In fact, He was and will always be the greatest, because He is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, true God from true God. But Jesus came to serve.