From the Inside Out

I love to drive.  I find it relaxing and even contemplative.  So, to say I am not an aggressive driver is an understatement.  As I sauntered to the car wash the other day, I obviously did not go fast enough on Route 41.  Full disclosure: I was driving 45mph in the middle lane. The guy behind me laid on his horn and encouraged me to get out of the way using language I can’t write here. An inappropriate hand gesture accompanied his words. You know the one I mean. So much anger was spilling from him, like an avalanche coming out of his pores.

The Gospel’s bottom-line message is that Evil does not come from what we ingest; it comes from what we pour into the world through our words and deeds. 

Jesus is talking about good and evil. No one questions that we have lots of both in the world. This Gospel asks, “What talk, actions, and attitudes do I allow myself to take in?” Do I make a home for unrest, the violence of word or action, negativity, disgust, and despair within the very soul of my being? If I do, then that is also what I will give out into the world. If I allow myself to be tied in knots over my life, our country, or the world, then words of anger will be what I find myself speaking. Suppose I allow myself to take in negative talk about others or to judge other’s motives. In that case, the words of condemnation will be the words that come from my lips. 

I can be aware of the world, politics, and even the unrest in my life and family but not allow it to make a home in my soul. In that case, I will remain focused on the goodness of God around me. That goodness will be what echoes from my soul into the world. Likewise, if I refuse to allow myself to cast judgment on another or speak with arrogance and intolerance about others, Then words of grace and hope will be my legacy.

We must find the deepest place in our soul and go there often. That is where what we cherish and value live. And we must protect our core. Only we can choose what we allow and ban from our souls. If negativity and judgment come from my mouth, then it is evil that I have allowed to reside in my soul. If kindness, humility, compassion, and love come from my words and actions, God abides in me.

There is good news. If Evil and toxicity have invaded our deepest parts, we need not despair. We can change the situation. We are not victims. Every day, we choose again what we allow within us. With the help of God, we can banish Evil and replace it with God. Vigilance is required because Evil is persistent. 

When we bar the door of our soul to negativity, we open the window to goodness, kindness, trust, and God. If we allow God to take root at the center of our soul, then we will be witnesses of God. Our words and actions will bless the world, and grace working through us will transform it.

I don’t know if you know what a “fiat” is. The word is said, “fee-aught.” It is a word with a deep biblical meaning. Fiat comes from Latin and means “Let it be done.” It is a condition that can be no other. For example, a fiat is God’s creation of the world in goodness and love. Mary’s fiat was the Magnificat. It is something without condition or exception. 

If we are to ever see and know the Kingdom of God among us, we will need to become people of fiat. We open our hearts and allow God’s will to be done.  

When we no longer allow negativity, the judgment of others, toxicity, and violence to have any space in our lives or hearts, God’s fiat of love and hope will take root in us.  

Our fiat is our unwavering trust that God is within us, and we are within God.

In God’s Unending Love,

Gwen