Just when I think Saint Paul's words are beyond my ability to understand, he makes a simple, startling statement like this. Here, Saint Paul nutshells the whole of our human condition in eighteen words!
And day after day, this is the life of everyone with a conscience.
Honestly and from experience, Paul tells us that our physical bodies lead us to do all sorts of things we know we should not do. We know because our actions break laws, customs and principles of good behavior.
Paul points out that there is something in us, which he calls sin, that brings us to act against the law. He also points out that the believer has a solution for this dilemma. We are not doomed to futility. We do not spend our time trying in vain to live by law.
So this is Paul's point in all of chapter seven: That, because I am joined with Jesus through baptism, I am freed from the power of sin, which turns good laws into occasions of sin within myself.
Paul reminds us that Jesus frees believers from this cycle of futility. We are released from the law. Jesus makes it possible for us to serve God and others in the power of his Spirit. So, despite the fact that sin is within me, and I need to battle against its pull every day, I am no longer a slave to it.
Today, I will thank you, God, for my baptism, joining me with your son who leads me away from my own sinfulness and gives me his Spirit so I can act in ways that give you glory.
Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, known for your sensitivity to the needs of others, pray for us.
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