Pursuing Real Life
"Your business," says Screwtape to Wormwood, "is to fix his attention on the stream [of immediate sense experiences.] Teach him to call it 'real life' and don't let him ask what he means by 'real.'"
–The Screwtape Letters | C.S. Lewis
This is the great temptation that we see in the garden in Eden: that humanity might pursue the "sensible" things of this world–what can be experienced by the senses,–considering and coming to believe that they are the truly real realities. This, in turn, shifts our focus away from God, and the greater heavenly realities. With our eyes fixed on the things of this world, we loose our taste for heavenly things. We become accustomed to life here on earth, as if it were the only thing that is really real. Such a way of life breeds anxiety, hopelessness, and can give way to licentiousness: eat, drink, be merry, for tomorrow we die. When the things of this world hold sway in our hearts, we set aside truth. We also distance ourselves from the life God has secured for us in Jesus Christ. We begin to forget his ways. More than that, we may begin to view his ways as a stumbling block, a disruption, to true and real life. As we have so many "sensible" things and experiences at our disposal, Screwtape's words are all the more pressing for us. We have so much that we can set before our eyes, as it were, just as Israel had the golden calf set before her eyes and heard proclaimed: “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” (Exodus 32:4)
In light of these temptations which are depicted for us by Screwtape, how are we to learn holy living? We are to take up the Holy Spirit's leading through the words of St. Paul: "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth." (Col 3:1–2) This we are to do by being diligent in prayer, attending to weekly Eucharistic worship, caring for the needs of others. As we listen to the Lord through the Holy Scriptures, we are to take them by faith, entrusting that the Lord reveals to us to true things of heaven, the greater heavenly reality.
What might this look like? It could look like taking up Jesus' Comfortable Words in Mt 11: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." His words mean that there is rest he provides to us, rest that is from above, that may be given and experienced, even in the midst of trial and suffering. There is the encouragement–and instruction–to bring all things that are burdensome to you and place them before the Lord, knowing that he loves you enough to bear your burdens for you. There is also the recognition that you are not able to "go it alone." In fact, you were not made to be an independent being; you were made for God, to find your joy, love, rest, and life by being (and deepening) your relationship in him.
Seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Let us not fall prey to the temptations of the devil to set our minds on the sensible things of the earth.
Grace & Peace,
– Matthew+