This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.
Purification from sin is not like purification of water, where the object is a clear, sterile substance free from contamination. The objective of purification from sin is not the purification itself, for the sake of a soul unaffected by external entities.
Rather, the process of purification from sin is like the removal of clutter from a launching pad so that a rocket–which, unlaunched, is just a collection of earthy metal and chemical fuel–can shoot beyond the stratosphere to an entirely new reality.
Far from the sterilization of a substance from all external influences, as with the purification of water, purification from sin is like cleaning up a room for a party. Welcoming the outsider is the whole point of this purification process, for it is the person from the outside–the friend, the family member–who brings joy and makes the whole process worthwhile. Only, in the case of purification from sin, the “outsider” is the divine Guest, God Himself, who transforms our lives and takes them beyond earthly joy to an entirely new stratosphere.
As we see in today’s dramatic first reading and psalm, purification from sin is a truly critical part of welcoming this Guest. St. Paul describes it as handing over the flesh to Satan, so that the spirit may be saved. Pretty intense image. Reminds one of Christ instructing the Pharisees to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. Satan can have his sin. What we want is Christ.
Purification from sin is critical, for as today’s psalm says:
For you, O God, delight not in wickedness;
no evil man remains with you;
the arrogant may not stand in your sight.
Because of His own veneration of human freedom, and the limits He has put on Himself because of it, God cannot enter in where sin reigns. We must be fully purified of the reign of sin, like a clean room, before God can fully enter in as Guest of honor. Before the countdown sequence can begin to the launch of our souls to the infinite heights of God Himself.
And what is the destiny of this launch? What destiny are we preparing for as we “tidy up the launchpad?” Today’s gospel reveals it to us. It is certainly not sterile, perfect compliance with a dead book of rules that does nothing for anyone. The destiny is the infinitely potent Charity of the Heart of Christ. It is the passion, the thirst, and–importantly–the power, the glorious power to effect the salvation and happiness of our neighbor. It is the same powerful passion for others that leads God made man to cure a withered hand on the Sabbath.
Recently, a priest commented how the Holy Spirit is moving with His gifts in the world today–how we have those gifts at our fingertips, if we just have the faith to reach for them. Specifically, he was commenting how abundantly the Holy Spirit gives the gift of miraculous physical healing power to those who trust Him and reach out for that gift. It is the same gift by which Jesus heals in the gospel today.
But even more importantly, a life purified from sin and given over consciously and daily to God gradually grows in Charity to the point that that daily gift itself, regardless of how it manifests itself in external activity, brings about per se a continuous burst of additional actual grace from God, and many souls are healed, converted, and saved. If we knew the kinetic power of a purified soul, given to God in trust and love, all external endeavors would take on a relative importance to us and become filled with the joy of continuous awareness of our gift–the potency of our lives given freely and trustingly to God.
The destiny of purification is not purification itself, but the fullness of our lives to bursting with the joy of God and with His potent Charity.
Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus to make your daily effort to turn to Him and away from sin not the drudgery of removing the impurities from something for the sake of purification, but the ordering of your soul for its true fulfillment in Him. Ask Him with passion and urgency to help you purify your soul so that He can enter in more fully. Most importantly, tell Him that the goal of your efforts is not your own spiritual “tidiness,” but your love for Him and for the people He loves. Ask Him in as your Guest, to fill your soul and your life completely, to bursting.
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