By Father James Muscatella, Blessed Trinity/St. Patrick parishes —
For us Catholic Christians, certain responses are almost reflexive – I say, “The Lord be with you,” and the People of God respond, “And with your Spirit.”
As our deacon dismisses the congregation, saying, “Go forth, the Mass is ended,” the assembly calls back, “Thanks be to God!” Finally, when a server comes out with the thurible (with or without burning incense inside), a cough will almost certainly sound from the congregation.
This is a conditioned response – should incense be hastily added to a partially lit coal, an unpleasant cloud of black, acrid smoke ascends. Because of misuse, we remember noxious fumes – and so we cough. This is a shame because incense serves as a powerful symbol calling us to remember our God and our place before Him.
Saint Paul, recalling the book of Proverbs, instructs us, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.” Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.” (Romans 12:20-21)
Dry incense is generally rough – a bit like dust or shards. To the touch, it is either unpleasantly dry or inconveniently tacky. One must be careful and attentive while handling this incense because it tends to make a frustrating mess. How often do we recall our enemies or the people who irritate us as rough, unpleasant, inconvenient, or frustrating?
Thoughtful preparation, however, can draw something beautiful out of this rough, unpleasant mess – incense, that is. A coal totally consumed by fire, lovingly watched over, causes most incense to produce a cloud majestic to the eye and sweetly scented. With hearts aflame with love for our God, we send up our prayers alongside this cloud – it wafts up as a symbol of God’s mysterious presence and of our own prayers sent heavenward. The true potential of those rough shards has been revealed – and they teach us something about the true potential of our “enemies.”
Our fallen nature inclines us to justify taking vengeance, in word or deed, on those we call enemies. Paul offers another vision – of how, in Christ, we can instead reorient ourselves before others and God: even as the world is fallen in sin, we might share in Christ’s work upon it. God looks to turn all things in His creation, once again, to good – you, I, and even them.
Christian transformation cannot be achieved by purely human endeavors or sentiments – an imperfectly ignited coal will at best sit ineffectively alongside shards of incense. Instead, if we are to draw hidden goodness out of hard times, like coals that draw perfume from a mess, we must allow ourselves to be totally consumed by that fire of Charity – God’s love for the world, shared with us.
The reality of sin, however, truly wounds us – we are blinded and hardened in our pain. Nothing short of Christian Hope can free us to live as healers in our hurt. By Hope, we can act with kindness and Charity – even and especially in times of trial and opposition – knowing that the God who calls us to live as Christians, in word and deed, will bring His work to fulfillment in Christ.
A transformation in Christian Charity calls for something greater than the strict formulations or apparent “certainties” of worldly reckoning. Slogans and mantras fit for a bumper sticker, which often give a great momentary flash of personal “righteous indignation,” prove to be ineffective for setting true, transformative Love alight. Divisive intrigue generally sucks up the “air” of the moment we find ourselves in, hindering the Christian transformation our hearts long to achieve. The clamor of showy public arguments and an internalization of an “us-versus-them” mentality give the veneer of “fired up” interest, but this false fire only leaves the coals of our hearts cold and inert. At best, we billow noxious smoke. It is ultimately transformation in Christ, and nothing less, that saintly trials call for. Nothing else can turn all things, and us in them, to good.
Will smoldering hatred leave us merely fuming, or might we be like coals set afire by God’s own love?
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