TURN  BACK  180 DEGREES

The conversion called for in the Gospel by John the Baptist, and , immediately after him by Jesus Christ Himself, consists in a complete reversal of our lifestyle, a real, dramatic, 180 degrees turn. Hope you will not hit any one in the process. It means putting “God” rather than ‘self’, or any other earthly thing, at the centre of our life; of making His Word the criterion, the measure, the rule of all our thoughts and actions.

The great sin which the Pharisees and the Sadducees had committed was exactly that; of not having given God His rightful place, easily confusing with their own interpretations what it was that He was actually asking.  For example they placed more importance on all the outward display of religion and its cult (ritual ablutions, Temple sacrifices, rigorous observance of the Sabbath rest etc.) than on what God wanted, especially love of neighbor and service to others.

Jesus was to emphasize  even more clearly that the Will of God consists in a special way, precisely in this maxim: “Bring forth fruit, then, worthy of repentance.”

In our days, unfortunately, we notice a tendency in the modern generation, to avoid God. Because, they argue, He is too demanding and troublesome. For various reasons people want, quite simply, to eliminate Him from their lives as superfluous, as useless.

There is a way of looking at things behind this approach which, taking the progress of science as its starting point, believes that scientific and technological progress will ultimately increase our ability to reach the point of , and mastering the universe, all by ourselves. resolving all our problems, and mastering the universe all on our own. I am my own God.

The Pharisees and the Sadducees, still exist in 2013. Our world is so badly wounded, that it can be healed ONLY by Jesus. He is calling us, His disciples, to allow Him to live in us. Baptism has given us this life. Yet many prefer to ‘water’ down His Word, the Gospel, like a menu a la carte, choosing what you like and leaving out what you don’t like. For this reason we need CONVERSION.

Adapted from Chiara Lubich.