Epistle: Romans 16:17-24 Gospel: St. Matthew 13:10-23
Right Outcomes: Romans 16:17-24, especially vss.19, 20: "I would have you wise as to what is good and guileless as to what is evil; then the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." [RSV] Applying the truth of the Faith requires a struggle to be both wise and innocent, so that God will indeed "crush Satan under [our] feet." The general principle in this prayer of St. Paul encourages us to pursue wisdom and innocence - not mindlessly but by being specific in what truly constitutes "wisdom" and "innocence." There is a humorous aphorism enjoyed among organizational planners that has a sharp reminder about the need for well-defined objectives: "If you don't know where you are going, you will certainly get there!"
The stated desire of the great Apostle is specifically Christ-centered, for he knows Whom he serves. Hence, his plea reminds us of the importance of knowing in advance the source of our desires. Consider: being "wise" in the methods and knowledge that contemporary culture values while being "innocent" of spiritual realities will throw us haplessly into the serious errors that are producing the horrors of the modern world. Have no doubt, St. Paul had definite content in mind concerning "good" and "evil" when he offered his prayer. For us to have real hope of "crushing Satan under our feet," we must both work with God and start from the same understanding of good and evil as did His holy Apostle Paul.
When "a certain ruler asked [the Lord], ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?'...Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God" (Lk. 18:18-19). To pursue wisdom one must aim at being wise in what is good as God has revealed the good to us. First of all, we must seek Him Who is the sole foundation of all true wisdom.
True Communion with God is wisdom, for He is what is good and the source of what is good. To assert the priority of knowing God as the ground of wisdom leads St. Paul to remark about "the doctrine you learned" (vs. 17). The ‘teaching' or ‘doctrines' to which he refers are the basic truths of the Faith: repentance from dead works, faith toward God, baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment (see Heb. 6:1,2).
However, these initial doctrines are meant to lead us into a life of ascetic and spiritual practice true to the Faith. Doctrines are not mere collections of information about God. The doctrine of knowledge of God teaches one to be purified by struggling with the aid of the Holy Spirit. The Fathers teach that purity is the foundation for true "theology" and relationship with God. St. John of the Ladder warns us that "guile is a perversion of honesty, a deluded way of thinking...deceit that has become habit, conceit turned into nature, a foe to humility, a pretense of repentance, an estrangement from mourning....Let us run from the precipice of hypocrisy!"
When we have become wise concerning what is good, already we have learned much about being innocent of evil. How we need to be innocent and guileless concerning the cravings and demands of "the belly" (Rom. 16:18). The Lord calls these desires of an impure heart, "evil thoughts," which specifically are: "fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness" (Mk. 7:21-22). Thus, evil comes "from within and [defiles] a man" (Mk. 7:23). The Lord urges us to acquire purity - that first essential step toward "knowing God." Truly, in this world, "If we do not know where we are going we are certain to get there!" Beloved of the Lord, we are those who have already drunk from the fountain of the age to come. As St. Herman of Alaska teaches: "...from this day, this hour, this very minute, we should try to love God above all else and carry out His teachings."
O my Creator, cleanse my soul. Sanctify my mind. Purify me and wash me clean.