SHARING IN THE HOLINESS OF GOD

THURSDAY, FIFTH WEEK OF EASTER   

Acts 15:7-21; Ps 96:1-3,10; Jn 15:9-11

The Divine Will and our Holiness

The holiness of our God is such that no creature can add to it or remove from it in any sense. God is so perfect that every one of his perfections is infinite and beyond our comprehension. This is why his divine will is so holy and immutable. His holy will, which stands for the greatness of God, is carried by his word. In the eternity of God’s existence, the Eternal Word is the Begotten of the Father. We worship the Word, the Son, as we worship the Father, for he shares in the Godhead of the Father. Based on this lofty and exalted holiness of God, none of us can be holy or compare in holiness to God by our own works or efforts, but we receive our holiness from God. The scripture bears witness to this by stating that all our works or righteous acts are like filthy rags before God. Cf. Isa 64:4. Our goodness or holiness of life comes from our conformity with the holy will of God. Spending time in meditation to understand this doctrine is worthwhile because, without directing our efforts in the right direction, we risk working in vain and wasting our life resources. The sole mission of the Son of God, who is the eternal expression of the immutable will of the Father, in human flesh, is to teach us this doctrine. He revealed to us, through his life and words, that the doing of the Father’s will is the sacrifice acceptable to God the Father.  

Subsequently, the Son of Man shared the holiness of God because of the total and complete conformity of his will to the immutable will of God the Father. Thus, completely conformed, he became our eternal High Priest in the service of God and shared God's authority. The channel of transfer of the divine authority to the Son of Man was the communion of love between the Father and the Son. Since the Son of Man actualized his union with the Son of God, which was a gift he received in the human nature he assumed in the beginning, in his total conformity with the Word, such that the same Person is God and Man; the love between the Father and the Son is also operative in the Son of Man. Hence, he says to us: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Remain in my love.” He invites us to enter the same love by the same means he entered it; namely, through conforming our wills to his will, which is also the will of the Father. “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” The purpose of God in creating us is that we may share in his holiness. The goal of the Trinity to make us in the image and likeness of God would entail our participation in the holiness of God. Based on this, we have stated that the mystical Jesus Christ, Head and Body, is the fulfilment of God’s purpose of creation. Saint Paul confirms this when he stated that the whole of creation is awaiting the revelation of the children of God.

In view of the divine intention to make us in His likeness, to share His holiness, discernment of the divine will for us is paramount in our journey into the mystery of Jesus Christ. This is so important that the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, dwells within us to guide us on the right path. The path or way is Jesus Christ. So, the Holy Spirit guides us to the knowledge of Christ. We see this play out in the Council of Jerusalem, where the apostles and the elders of the Church gathered to properly discern the will of God for us. The Holy Spirit always prompts us in the direction of God’s will, as Peter noted. “In fact God, who can read everyone’s heart, showed his approval of them by giving the Holy Spirit to them just as he had to us. God made no distinction between them and us, since he purified their hearts by faith.” The apostles and elders came to realise that holiness is what we receive from God by following His holy will and not by doing what we think is good. What is good for us, Christians, is what God wants of us, and not what we consider to be good by our reckoning. This awareness is the key to our spiritual progress in life. Our every and daily effort must be channelled to discerning the will of God and not to keeping the commandments of God by our self-efforts. Ultimately, the commandments are within the will of God, and we must understand the priority of discerning God’s will and doing them daily. This requires daily fellowship with God through the indwelling Holy Spirit. This is the only way we can faithfully proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

Let us pray: O God, by whose grace, though sinners, we are made just and, though pitiable, made blessed, stand, we pray, by your works, stand by your gifts, that those justified by faith may not lack the courage of perseverance. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.