23 April, Tuesday — The error of being ourselves

Tuesday of the 4th Week of Eastertide

Acts 11:19-26
John 10:22-30

“The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice”

Recently, I learned about the term “polycule”, which refers to a group of people who are in a network of interconnected romantic relationships with one another. Each person in a polycule has more than one romantic partner. It seems to be a rather complex form of polyamory, and a recent New York Times article about a 20-person polycule stirred up considerable intrigue online. To me, the proliferation of these bewildering varieties of sexual/romantic liaisons are a sign that increasingly, people are surfacing their innermost desires that defy what is considered traditional and fulfiling these desires with others who have similar inclinations. As long as all who are involved are willing parties and no one is getting hurt, what’s so wrong with it?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus says that “The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice”. Choosing to listen to Jesus’ voice inevitably entails a denial and rejection of one’s disordered desires, even if it’s the hardest thing to do. Contrast this with one of the prevailing themes in the current worldview that one should simply “be themselves” and do what suits their fancy, no judgement (unless laws are broken and people are harmed). Living in such a climate of growing moral relativism presents great challenges to the Christian faithful.

I find that for a start, it may be helpful to do a compare and contrast between these alternative worldviews and those of the Church, so as to obtain some clarity about the differences. Take for instance this concept known as therapeutic deism, which seems to underlie some of the “be yourselves and be happy” practices. In therapeutic deism, God is a creator who does not get personally involved in our lives, except to help us alleviate our suffering. The central goal in our lives is to be happy and feel good. Unlike Christianity, there is no need to respond to God’s love by doing all we can to imitate Christ, nor is there a need to repent from sin. This obviously deviates from the central message of the bible. Sadly though, it appears that a large number of so-called Christians subscribe to this idea. In light of such disturbing trends, we have to do more in our own spiritual lives to resist the onslaught of these evolving mutations of the faith.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Edith Koh)

Prayer: We pray for a conversion of heart of those who have adopted misguided and erroneous notions of Christianity, and call upon the Holy Spirit to strengthen our faith and of those in our community.

Thanksgiving: We give thanks for the presence of individuals in our communities who have inspired us with their unwavering faith, and shown us what it means to truly listen to Jesus’ voice.