”Good enough”: The other-directedness of holiness

When is "good enough" good enough? The search for "good enough" enters into every facet of life, and for the Christian disciple this can be doubly true of the spiritual life. It can seem like one never "measures up" enough to the call to virtue and holiness, bringing with it great anxiety and discouragement. One is never satisfied: How can God be!? But Jesus, and his Apostle Paul, both teach notion of holiness that is other-directed, rather than a neurotic inversion upon oneself. In his Sermon on the Plain (Lk 6), Jesus' exhortations to righteousness are made in the context of seeking to lead others towards the Good (vv. 39-42). In his letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 9), Paul talks about becoming all that others need him to become in order to bring them to salvation (vv. 19-23). All of this correlates perfectly with other teachings of Jesus and Paul that the disciple must strive to bear spiritual fruit in the world, above all that of love. Are we ever "good enough"? Never, but the Christian disciple is always "good enough" to give the love possible for the day, and where this love must become better, one now knows specifically where greater spiritual growth is necessary.

-Given at the St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel (UST-St. Paul) on September 11, 2020