How many Ukrainian men do you think are sitting in front of a TV right now with feet propped up, drinking a beer, and watching a ball game? Living in the middle of a life-death situation, we do not have the luxury of getting involved in superficial entertainment. All the world has been stunned and sobered by what is happening in Ukraine right now.
The early Church faced life-death situations from its beginnings. Becoming a Christian meant putting one’s life on the line and being vulnerable to persecution. It meant separating oneself from the world and becoming part of a group that had a destiny beyond what this world provides.
St. Peter in shepherding the early Church exhorts the early Christians to stay on course even in troubling and dangerous times. He knew that the Enemy as a roaring line was looking for every opportunity to steal, kill, and destroy the followers of Jesus. And so, he writes (1 Peter 1:10-16):
“Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, live soberly, and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
“Girding up one’s loins,” according to the dictionary, means to “prepare to do something that is difficult or dangerous.” A Christian girds up his or her mind by anchoring it in the truth. Amid news and noise, we keep our minds fastened to God’s Word and the true teachings of the Church. This is not a time to let ourselves be sidetracked by empty philosophies and political debate.
Besides disciplining our minds to God’s Word, we are also to “live soberly.” As we enter the season of Lent, this is the perfect time to deal with sin that may be hanging around in our lives and to get our lives in order. What we see happening in the political world, reflects what is also happening in the spiritual world. There is a war going on between the forces of light and those of darkness, and this has been going on long before Russia began to invade Ukraine. It is not a time to grow spiritually careless and to live as mediocre Christians.
St. Peter reminds us of our ultimate purpose—to prepare for Jesus’ return. Our hope is rooted in grace not in political solutions to the world’s problems. The Kingdom we belong to is not of this world.
Peter goes on to say:
“Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct…”
As long as we are in this world, the “desires of our former ignorance” will be tugging away at us. Having received the Holy Spirit, however, there is a new law at work within us, the law of holiness. The seed of the Holy Spirit was planted in us at baptism, and it enables us to be holy in “every aspect” of our lives. This is not a time to compromise the holiness to which we have been called.
Peter concludes:
“For it is written, ‘Be holy because I am holy.’”
We are children of the heavenly Father, the Holy One. Therefore, knowing who we are, our goal is to act like him and to make his presence felt in the world. When people see us, especially when times are darkest, they see something beyond this world and realize that there is a source of hope that goes beyond this world.
“The Lord has made his salvation known” (Ps 98:2).
