'the world' forty times...

Lord Christ, by Your victory you broke the power of evil and destroyed sin and death,
~make us victorious over sin today.
               Lauds Monday Fifth Week of Easter

"Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me tell you
'I am going away....
and I will come back to you.'
If you loved me, you would rejoice
that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it happens,
so that when it happens you my believe.
I will no longer speak much with you,
for the ruler of the world is coming.
He has no power over me,
but the world must know that I love the Father
and that I do just as the Father has commanded me."
               John 14:27-31


"The world" is all of creation
including us
which God loves deeply.

Fashioned by God, 'the world' around us
and all its inhabitants reflect his creative goodness.
"God looked at everything He had made
                and He found it very good."
                      Genesis 1:31

and yet, sin entered the world through disobedience
and since then the world has been under the influence
of the evil one, whom Jesus called the "the ruler of the world"

So when scripture warns us not to love "the world"
it's a warning not to become attached
to philosophies in the world that reject or are opposed to God.

Rejecting 'the world' doesn't mean rejecting
all that is good and healthy in creation or in our relationships.
Neither does it mean building a wall
around ourselves to avoid contamination.

Rejecting 'the world' means
being shrewd about the voices we listen to
the way we spend our time
and the horizon that we are looking toward.

If we are concerned
only about the few decades
we have on this earth
there is a good chance that
we have become enamored of the world.

But if we are living a joyful,
full life in this world
while keeping our hearts set on heaven
we will find the right balance.

On the cross, Jesus overcame the sin in the world.
Now, He wants all of us to work with Him
to turn this beloved creation of His into a mirror image of His kingdom.....


Word Among Us
May 20, 2014

concupiscence: inclination toward sin and evil (CCC 405, 418)
you are loved
you are mine...........