Prison Break

A Reflection on the Second Reading for February 10th, 2019:
​Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

​1 Corinthians 15

1 Now I would remind you, brethren, in what terms I preached to you the gospel, which you received, in which you stand, 2 by which you are saved, if you hold it fast -- unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

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​Governed by our passions, we are all bound for imprisonment—either exteriorly or interiorly. Paul, driven by his passions of vengeance/anger/fear of the unknown, persecuted many Christians. And though his actions were supported by lawmakers, he was imprisoned within—held captive by his emotions, and blinded to the Truth.

Throughout my life, I have been a witness and party to the repercussions of ungoverned passions. I’ve watched overindulgence in alcohol break bonds of trust and dissolve family unity. I’ve seen promiscuity engender the prison of self-loathing. I’ve watched the overindulgence in anger and greed sever relationships and lead to isolation. And bullying and abuse has caused fear that restricts and distorts the self-perceptions of children and adults alike. And as we all know, hurt people hurt people, so the cycle perpetuates itself, often causing generational prisons of anxiety and self-hatred. Simply put—these passions are all lies.

When we are governed by our passions, we will inevitably be imprisoned by them.  Like Paul, I spent much of my life governed by my passions, and true to form, I found no peace on that road. I wove many lies about who I was and how undeserving I was of any degree of affection.

"When we are governed by our passions, we will inevitably be imprisoned by them."

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“Now I would remind you, brethren, in what terms I preached to you the gospel, which you received, in which you stand, by which you are saved, if you hold it fast” 

It is only this message of Salvation and Truth that returned me to God’s true perception of and intention for me. Paul proclaims the kerygma far and wide throughout the time of his ministry. Kerygma is a Greek word for preaching. In Christianity, the kerygma is the gospel message of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I had never understood this message throughout my misguided youth, nor would it have been of any consequence to me as I pridefully stood on my principle of independence. But once I was desperate—worn down and in need of a Saviour—the kerygma penetrated the weakening edges of my heart.

“But by the grace of God, I am what I am”

We must be humbled before God in order that He can restore our passions to reflect the truth of our identity in Him. Paul himself was physically blinded before he saw Truth. We too must take on the disposition of blindness to our own selfish desires in order to make room for God’s desires to be illuminated within us. It is only by His governance that we can truly be free.
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Let us Pray:
Gentle and healing Father, help us turn a blind eye to our destructive desires, so that the guiding light of Christ may lead us away from our passions and into the gentle virtues of Your grace.

Lori MacDonald

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