The life-giving message of the apostolic proclamation is given to us condensed in the modest seed of a mustard tree. It is the enlightening knowledge of faith scrutinizing the depth of God. Faith scrutinizes the depths of God not by virtue of intellectual power, but by the virtue of the prophetic guarantee of our Hope. In the depths of God, Faith and Hope are activated in deeds of God’s very nature, Love. It is only then that our Faith and Hope acquire their saving power and bring forth justification (Romans 1.17).
The memory of God expands this compacted power of love, tends to the young sprout of eternal life nourishing it the sap of the Holy Spirit, so that it may grow and create a canopy of divine culture sheltering virtues and deeds that bring into reality the kingdom of heaven.
This new logic giving reality to the kingdom of heaven is possible to picture with the image of the good shepherd given by Jesus. The human shepherd tends to his flock to exploit and gain advantage of the wool, the meat, the milk. The good and valiant shepherd operates in the exact opposite of the human shepherd; he takes his flock to grassy meadows and by tranquil streams leads them to restore their spirit, so that nothing may lack for them (Psalm 22/23), and they may have life, and have life in full happiness (John 10.10).
The apostolic faith proclaims the new logic of the heavenly kingdom and by accepting this faith, Christians receive talents commensurate with each of their capabilities (Matthew 25.14–30). This faith activates the new life and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit takes us to the safety of hope (Galatians 5.5), and we are not allowed to keep it unproductive, wrapped in linen and buried underground. Because that would be sinning against the Holy Spirit. Our salvation depends upon keeping faith alive through deeds of love (Galatians 5.6).
The freedom obtained through our faith condensed in love guides us towards the marvelous domain of the reality of the heavenly kingdom. A domain where we conduct a life in the Holy Spirit we received through the power of the sacrament of Baptism, as Paul the Apostle says (Galatians 5.16), and not yielding to self-indulgent desires and passions. It is important to understand accurately what Paul meant here: the Apostle is not talking about the narrow and inadequate sense of lust and sexual desire and passion, but about the full and glorious human capacity to desire perfection but deprived of the divine presence of the Holy Spirit.
If we plant even with the utmost perfection of our human capabilities but without the Holy Spirit, we will gather a corrupt harvest devoid of the life given by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 6.8). On the contrary, if we plant in union with the Holy Spirit, we will harvest the bountiful fruits of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5.22–23).
This is, therefore, how we receive the knowledge of apostolic faith condensed in love, and we generate, give birth to, marvelous works of eternal life made fertile through the power of the Holy Spirit transforming our human nature into the participation of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus.
Peace be with you,
