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NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

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From: Ephesians 4:30-5:8

Christian Virtues (Continuation)
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[30] And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the days of redemption. [31] Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice, [32] And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Purity of Life
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[1] Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. [2] And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. [3] But immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is fitting among saints. [4] Let there be no filthiness, nor silly talk, nor levity, which are not fitting; but instead let there be thanksgiving. [5] Be sure of this, that no immoral or impure man, or one who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. [6] Let no one deceive you with empty words, for it is because of these things that the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. [7] Therefore do not associate with them.

Walking in the Light
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[8] For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light.

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Commentary:

30. The Holy Spirit, who is the bond of unity in Christ's mystical body (cf. Eph 4:3-4), is "grieved" by anything which might cause disunity among the faithful.

The Holy Spirit dwells in the souls of believers from Baptism onwards, and his presence is reinforced when they receive Confirmation and the other sacraments. As the Council of Florence teaches, in Confirmation "we are given the Holy Spirit to strengthen us, as happened to the Apostles on the day of Pentecost, enabling the Christian boldly to confess the name of Christ" (Pro Armeniis, Dz-Sch, 1319). St Ambrose, commenting on the effects of Confirmation, says that the soul receives from the Holy Spirit "the spiritual seal, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and fortitude, the Spirit of knowledge and piety, the Spirit of holy fear. God the Father has sealed you, Christ the Lord has strengthened you, the mark of the Spirit has been impressed on your heart" (De Mysteries, 7, 42). Since Confirmation is one of the three sacraments which imprints a character on the soul, this seal remains forever.

When the time came for Israel's redemption from slavery in Egypt, the blood of the passover lamb, which had been smeared on the doors of the Israelites' houses, acted as the mark which identified those to be saved. In a parallel way, the seal of the Holy Spirit which is given at Baptism is the permanent sign engraved on the souls of those who are called to salvation by dirge of the Redemption worked by Christ.

"The Apostle is speaking here of the configuration in virtue of which an individual is deputed to future glory, and this takes place through grace. Now grace is attributed to the Holy Spirit inasmuch as it is from love that God freely imparts something to us, and this belongs to the meaning of grace. And it is the Holy Spirit that is love" (Summa Theologiae, III, q. 63, a 3, ad 1).

32. Forgiveness is one of the virtues which characterize the "new nature", for it leads a person to treat his neighbor as Jesus taught: "If you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother" (Mt 5:23-24). Our Lord has shown by his own example what really forgiving one's neighbor involves. Even in the midst of his suffering on the cross he asked his father to forgive those who condemned him an d those who nailed him to the wood so violently and sadistically.

"Force yourself, if necessary, always to forgive those who offend you, from the very first moment. For the greatest injury or offense that you can suffer from them is as nothing compared with what God has pardoned you" ([St] J. Escriva, The Way, 452).

1. A good child tries to please his parents and to follow their good example. Christians are adopted children of God and therefore should be guided in their behavior by the way God treats people (cf. Mt 6:12; etc.); we have in fact a very accessible way to follow--that given us by Jesus.

If we wish our actions to be very pleasing to God our Father, we should learn from his Son made man. However, it "is not enough to have a general idea of Jesus; we have to learn the details of his life and, through them, his attitudes. And, especially, we must contemplate his life, to derive from it strength, light, serenity, peace.

"When you love someone, you want to know all about his life and character, so as to become like him. That is why we have to meditate on the life of Jesus, from his birth in a stable right up to his death and resurrection" ([St] J. Escriva, Christ Is Passing By, 107).

2. Christ gave himself up to death of his own free will, out of love for man. The words "a fragrant offering and sacrifice", recalling the sacrifices of the Old Law, underline the sacrificial character of Christ's death and emphasize that his obedience was pleasing to God the Father.

Jesus Christ "came to show us the immense love of his heart, and he gave himself to us entirely," St Alphonsus teaches, "submitting himself first to all the hardships of this life, then to the scourging, the crowning with towns and all the pain and ignominy of his passion; finally he ended his life forsaken by all on the infamous wood of the cross" (Shorter Sermons, 37, 1, 1).

The founder of Opus Dei says in this connection: "Reflect on the example that Christ gave us, from the crib in Bethlehem to his throne on Calvary. Think of his self-denial and of all he went through--hunger, thirst, weariness; heat, tiredness, ill-treatment, misunderstandings, tears [...]. But at the same time think of his joy at being able to save all mankind. And now I would like you to engrave deeply on your mind and on your heart--so that you can meditate on it often and draw your own practical conclusions--the summary St Paul made for the Ephesians when he invited them to follow resolutely in our Lord's footsteps: [Eph 5:1-2 follows]" (Friends of God, 128).

3. Like the early Christians in Asia Minor, many Christians today find themselves in a somewhat paganized society marked by immoral practices (cf. Rom 1:24-27), including fornication and impurity in general (cf. Co l 3:5). However, no matter how corrupt public morality may be, it should be vigorously resisted, especially by means of that upright living which befits those who aspire to holiness because they are temples of the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 6:19) and members of Christ's body (cf. 1 Cor 6:15).

That is why the Apostle warns that "immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you." The last part of the sentence could also be translated as "should not be mentioned in connection with you"; that is, Christians should be so refined in the practice of chastity and its associate virtues that non-Christians have no grounds whatever for accusing them of impurity. However, the main reason for practising this virtue is not fear of what others may say but rather love of God, who is our Father, and respect for one's own body, which is the dwelling-place of the Blessed Trinity. "Tell me," asks St Anastasius of Sinai, "if your hands were stained with manure, would you dare to use them to touch the king's garments? You would not even touch your own clothes with dirty hands; you would clean them first and then dry them carefully, and then touch things. Well then, why do you not give God the same honor as you show miserable clothes?" (Sermon on the Holy Synaxis).

"Take special care of chastity and also of the other virtues which go with it--modesty and refinement. They are as it were the safeguard of chastity. Don't take lightly those norms of conduct which help so much to keep us worthy in the sight of God: a watchful guard over our senses and our heart; the courage--the courage to be a 'coward'--to flee from occasions of sin; going to the sacraments frequently, particularly to the sacrament of Confession; complete sincerity in personal spiritual direction; sorrow, contrition and reparation after one's falls. And all this imbued with a ten der devotion to our Lady to have her obtain for us from God the gift of a clean and holy life" ([St] J. Escriva, Friends of God, 185).

5-7. The Christian also has to fight against covetousness and greed, vices which make one a slave to power and money, which can become a kind of idol (cf. Mt 6:24). When using the things of this world, the Christian must avoid growing attached to them: "The Lord does not command us to demolish our house and have no truck with money. What he does desire is that we remove from our soul the priority given to possessions, uncontrolled greed and desire for riches, the cares, the thorns of this life, which smother the seed of the true life" (Clement of Alexandria, Quis Dives Salvetur, 11). Economic affairs are in fact a channel whereby the spirit of the Gospel can exert an influence on private and public life. "Christians engaged actively in modern economic and social progress and in the struggle for justice and charity must be convinced that they have much to contribute to the prosperity of mankind and to world peace. Let them, as individuals and as members of groups, give a shining example to others. Endowed with the skill and experience so absolutely necessary for them, let them preserve a proper sense of values in their earthly activity in loyalty to Christ and his Gospel, in order that their lives, individual as well as social, may be inspired by the spirit of the Beatitudes, and in particular by the spirit of poverty.

"Anyone who in obedience to Christ seeks first the Kingdom of God will derive from it a stronger and purer love for helping all his brethren and for accomplishing the task of justice under the inspiration of charity. (For the right use of goods according to the teaching of the New Testament cf. Lk 3:11; 10:30ff; 11:41; Mk 8:36; 12:29-31; 1 Pet 5:3; Jas 5:1-6; 1 Tim 6:8; Eph 4:28; 2 Cor 8:13 ; 1 Jn 3:17-18.)" (Vatican II, Gaudium Et Spes, 72).

8-9. In contrast to the Christian's previous situation, which St Paul describes as "darkness", he now goes on to speak about the proper course for a believer, for someone enlightened by faith. The Christian is in a different position from that of a pagan; he knows our Lord Jesus Christ and he has a new way of thinking: he is a "child of light", because Christ has given him insight into the criteria which should govern his behavior. In his new life, he should be light; he has been reborn to be the "light of the world" (cf. Mt 5:14-16; Jn 1:5; 8:12), a pursuer of all that is good and right and true; this means that he has a new way of being and thinking and acting, and is an example and a help to those around him. There is no room for excuses when what is at stake is the salvation of souls to whom we could be giving a helping hand: "Do not say, I cannot help others," St John Chrysostom preached; "if you are truly a Christian, it is impossible for you not to be able to do so [...]. If we act properly, everything else will follow as a natural consequence. Christians' light cannot be hidden, a lamp so brilliant cannot fail to be seen" (Hom. on Acts, 20).