December 8/Second Sunday of Advent
I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. ~ Phil 1.6
The market for self-improvement in the United States remains robust – workshops and seminars, personal coaching, and a proliferation of self-help books that bring in hundreds of millions of dollars every year – not to mention the reach of Tik Tok (which baffles me, Boomer that I am). All of these books, convenings, self-help websites, and social media videos share the underlying premise that inner transformation is a matter of human agency. If we just embrace the life-changing magic of tidying up, or make our beds every morning, or come to a decision in five seconds, we will fix what’s wrong inside. The underlying premise is that human agency, not divine grace, is the route to salvation. Au contraire, declares Paul in his letter to the community at Philippi: the power of transformation lies in God’s hands, not ours. As English Carmelite nun Ruth Burrows (d. 2023) wrote, “Our problem is that we are bedeviled with the notion that we have to do it all ourselves.” If we can let go of this drive for autonomy and surrender to God with trust and confidence, forging what Paul calls a “partnership in the gospel,” God can and will complete the work that he has begun in us. But we have to let go of the idea that we are the agents of grace. The 20th century German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer gave similar counsel: “One must completely abandon any attempt to make something of oneself. . . .and throw ourselves completely into the arms of God.” God gives us life, God sustains us in love, and God fulfills his purpose in us. Thanks be to God.
Loving Lord, May I surrender myself to you, soul and body, so that the good work you have begun in me can be completed, according to your will. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120824.cfm
To hear Johnny Cash (whose statue now stands in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda as a representative for Arkansas!), click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-J8C2BYnxE
