“Lord, may I do nothing outside of you.” A fitting prayer of protection against becoming too worldly. “Lord, may I do nothing outside of you.” I love these simple prayers of the Saints that say so much to us.
At some point, if we haven’t already, it’s best to give in. It’s best to allow the Lord to lead, for without him we can do nothing. So, in order to do something, in order to accomplish anything good and loving, we can do so only with him. For without him, we can do nothing.
Giving in to Christ in a world that stresses and teaches radical independence goes against the grain of our staunch desire to stand alone. It also flies in the face of the ways of the first Christians, who saw themselves as one body before they saw themselves as individuals. Eventually, all who stand alone will fall alone. It’s best for us to give in humbly, and surrender to Him who teaches us true happiness.
Our readings on the 5th Sunday of Easter center on the words of Christ, “Remain in me, as I remain in you.” Our Lord, in the fullness of his human nature, understands all too well that it’s much too easy to not remain in him, but rather subscribe our lives to the fading glory of this world. Spending a week in the Holy Land where Jesus spoke these words of remaining in him allows a pilgrim traveler to embrace even deeper the fundamental importance of how this teaching from him sets up a certain priority for us.
I think of all the incredibly talented people I know, in the Parish, friends, and others, and how we seek to be the best in whatever it is we do. Everyone wants to succeed, be it business, sports, hobbies, etc. Wherever our interests and responsibilities take us. I try my best to not be a lousy, uncaring priest to you. True success, however, for us Christians, starts and ends with remaining in Christ.
Being the branch on his tree – at times the tree being his Cross – and remaining there through the highs and lows that come our way. Along the way, the temptation to pull away from Christ when the more serious challenges set in is very real. The tug is to back off from Jesus because it seems like he’s backed off from me, like God backed off from the Israelites when worshipped their false gods. But the only better option is to remain in him. By doing so, we remain with the One who stands tall outside the tomb.
During the Easter season the Church blesses us with readings each week from the Acts of the Apostles., a book written by St. Luke along with his Gospel. Luke had the Spirit upon him. In Acts, the book centers on the words and actions of Peter and Paul, going back and forth between each Apostle. In this section we heard proclaimed today, Paul is just coming off his ways of making life miserable for believers in Christ. His persecuting comes to an abrupt halt when Jesus beats the heck out of him. It was a beautiful beating that led to Paul seeing and speaking to the Lord. The Risen Lord. He returns to Jerusalem where his former reputation precedes him, all being afraid of him.
What really happens here is that Paul’s life moves quickly from being as far outside of Christ as he could be – a persecutor of Christians – to remaining in Christ for good due to a holy pounding on his body, reaching his heart. In this Worldwide Wrestling Federation match, Jesus pins Paul to the mat until Paul cries “Uncle” a hundred times over. ‘Lord, you win.” A good prayer for us. “I surrender. You win the match, because I can’t match your power on my own. Show me how to be open to your will.”
This speaks to us by way of how Paul now bears good fruit, and not the ugly fruits of unbelief and violence. Paul’s ego has been cast aside, and God’s risen ego now consumes the Apostle. St Paul now becomes the most excellent example for us on how to remain in Christ. When he falls, he gets back up; when he is beaten by the forces of the world, he gives glory to God; when he is shipwrecked, he trusts the Spirit is with him; when he is thrown into prison, he writes New Testament Letters that last rather than wallowing in his self-pity.
How can he turn all the world’s ugliness on its head? How can Paul defeat the Prince of Demons and all the world’s wrath, and not become complicit with it? “Remain in me, as I remain in you. Without me, you can do nothing.”
We can do nothing holy, lasting, good, and loving, outside of Him who is risen. We can fool ourselves in this pluralistic and individualistic culture and convince ourselves that we have a formula for accomplishing the good outside of the Lord. But that would be a lie to ourselves, as well as trying to play God.
We are people of truth and love for the Lord. Remain in him. Remain in the Risen Him. And the day we go to his home, we’ll enjoy the fruits of his promise. “Lord, may I do nothing outside of you.”