Mom Against the World

The New Testament frequently refers to the world’s antagonism toward Christ and his followers.

This conflict may be described in many terms: peer pressure, culture war, political conflict, systematic persecution, martyrdom, and even Armageddon.

It may also be manifested and described in terms such as the following:

Mom
Housewife
Husband
Father
Young single
Retiree
Your life
“My so-called life”

The conflict between Christians and “the world” does not occur only on the level of social movements or apocalyptic battles: it also occurs on the level of our everyday lives.

In today’s Gospel (Jn.16:29-33), our Lord warns his disciples of challenges that await them.

In the world ye shall have tribulation.

The “tribulation” or “trouble” to which our Lord refers is not just apocalyptic: all of us have tribulations and troubles in our daily lives - things that sometimes threaten to overwhelm us.

A little earlier in this same passage our Lord says this:

Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come,
that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own,
and shall leave me alone...

This was fulfilled shortly thereafter when our Lord was arrested and the disciples fled, but it also resonates with our daily experience.

As Christians, we want to have Christ-centered lives, but the forces and events of daily life push upon us and try to scatter us.

We find ourselves immersed in this and that, our attention pulled in many directions at once (although it would be a bit dramatic to depict “multitasking” as the new Moloch).

In the midst of the world’s chaos, we may feel overwhelmed and even lost.

Our Lord speaks words of comfort to us

These things I have spoken unto you
that in me
ye might have peace.

In the world
ye shall have tribulation:
but be of good cheer;
I have overcome the world.

You and I are finite, fragile human beings: we cannot handle everything, nor can we endure everything, but Christ can – indeed, he is already victorious!

All we have to do is recognize that the victory is Christ’s and remain firmly tethered to him.

We remain tethered to Christ by his grace through our fidelity to him – in thought, word, and deed – developing the habit of taking moments of prayer whenever we can, the habit of keeping thoughts about Christ continually in our mind, and the habit of being open at every moment to his will rather than our own.

It isn’t always easy – the world sometimes seems to be against us.

“But be of good cheer,”
says our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
“I have overcome the world.”