Tuesday of the Twenty-ThirdWeek in Ordinary Time
Christ is the only Lord
So, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him, rooted in him and built upon him and established in the faith as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy according to human tradition, according to the elemental powers of the world and not according to Christ. For in him dwells the whole fullness of the deity bodily, and you share in this fullness in him, who is the head of every principality and power … You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead …he brought you to life along with him, having forgiven us all our transgressions; obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims, which was opposed to us. Col 2,6-14
Three days ago, we read that the evil weed of astrology had taken root in the community of Colossae, and how astrology belittled the faith in Christ. In today’s passage, Paul, after urging the brothers of the community to stand fast in their faith, warns them before the false astrological beliefs, which had been given the sumptuous name of “philosophy”: “See it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy according to human tradition”. There is only one way, in Paul’s times as well as today, not to be fooled by these cheaters: to remain close to Christ, as the root that nourishes its own life. This is a medicine which Paul suggests: “For in him [Christ] dwells the whole fullness of the deity bodily… You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead”. Christ cannot be replaced by any other belief, because he possesses the divine nature in all its “fullness” and replies to all the questions of mankind completely. I remember a lady who had started a good journey of faith, but, since some troubles had risen in her family, had gone to have the tarots read by a self-proclaimed fortune-teller, with the result that she lost her faith, spent a lot of money and her problems even got worse. The only remedies against the difficulties of life are prayer and the sacraments: there is nothing better than a good confession and a frequent Communion. The astrologers, the magicians and the fortune tellers can not solve any problem. Christ is the only Lord.