29TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

The benefit that you have leads to sanctification, and its end is eternal life. 

When we renew our baptismal promises, we “reject the glamour of evil” and “refuse to be mastered by sin.” That language comes from the images St. Paul uses in today’s first reading. By rejecting the allure of evil and refusing to let sin be our master, we are agreeing to a kind of transfer of “ownership.” Where once sin and death held a claim over us, in Baptism we are instead “claimed” for Christ. We now belong to the Lord!

Oh, if only it were that easy! If only we could live completely free from sin from the moment of our Baptism on! Fortunately, Paul is realistic about human nature. He knows that everyone—including himself—struggles with sin. So that’s why he talks about “sanctification,” or holiness, as a process. Baptism cleanses us from original sin and makes us into a new creation, but we still need to learn to live out that new creation. We still need to learn how to “present” ourselves every day as “slaves to righteousness” (Romans 6:19).

But why “slaves”? Isn’t slavery a dehumanizing and sinful practice? Yes, it is! At least human slavery is. Slaves are at the mercy of their masters and receive no wages for all their work. But that’s not what “slavery” to the Lord looks like. Paul promises that if we submit to our new Master, Jesus, we will receive something far better—“the gift of God,” which is nothing less than “eternal life” (Romans 6:23)! That’s because our new Master is good and kind and generous. He never asks us to do anything that he isn’t willing to help us do. And everything he asks of us is meant to bring us closer to that goal of eternity.

So the next time you face a strong temptation, keep the end in mind! Remember that Jesus has claimed you as his own, and you belong to him now. Remember that the wages of sin are a dead end—quite literally—but that you have traded slavery to sin for a new status as a beloved child of God. And be patient with yourself, as God is patient with you. The path of sanctification takes a lifetime, and Jesus promises to be with you all the way.

“Jesus, I belong to you!”

Romans 6:10-23
Psalm 1:1-4, 6
Luke 12:49-53