esus, You are patient with my inconsistencies. Keep me in the path of the call to perfection - Daily Reflections February 1,2015

WELL DONE!

Let me share with you two words: orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Ortho is Greek for straight, upright, right or correct. Doxa is Greek for knowledge or teaching. So orthodoxy can be translated as correct or right teaching. Praxis can be rendered as action or living out. So orthopraxy is right living.

       Today in the Gospel, Jesus meets a man possessed by an unclean spirit that shrieks. He shouts, “Jesus of Nazareth… I know who you are — the Holy One of God!” Jesus rebukes the evil spirit into silence. He would not hear anything from it. Notice that the devil, speaking through the man, knows who Jesus is. The devil is orthodox, so to speak. He has right knowledge and teaching. But while the devil has orthodoxy, he has no orthopraxy.

       Before the episode with the unclean spirit, Jesus taught in the synagogue. People were spellbound by His teaching because He taught “with authority and not like the scribes.” The scribes were teachers who knew the law like the palm of their hands. As their name connotes, they write, transcribe and interpret the meaning of the Mosaic Law. Without a doubt, they had orthodoxy. But their teaching, orthodox as it may be, lacked an essential partner — orthopraxy. Their right teaching was estranged from right living. That was why their teaching had no authority.

       Jesus, on the other hand, amazed people. They looked at each other and asked, “What does this mean? A completely new teaching in a spirit of authority?” What authority did Jesus have? The authority of the marriage between orthodoxy and orthopraxy. By definition, orthodoxy and orthopraxy are different. By vocation, they are meant to be spouses.

       Ever heard of the maxim, “What is better than well said? Well done!”? Jesus was the incarnation of that maxim. The scribes would do well to remember that. It will do us well to remember it, too. Fr. Joel Jason

REFLECTION QUESTION: Is there a divorce between orthodoxy and orthopraxy in your life? Submit it to the healing power of regular confession, holy communion and daily perseverance.

Jesus, You are patient with my inconsistencies. Keep me in the path of the call to perfection.