Imitation of Christ, I, 4

One of the disappointments of adult life is to realize in many manifestations the weakness of fallen human nature. When we were children, for the most part we were shielded from recognizing it, but with time we have come to know that all is not well with man. This is becoming “wise” in the ways of the world. Regrettable though it is, the sinful tendencies of humanity have to be faced squarely. The art of living a good Catholic life in the midst of sin and corruption is to know how to act, avoiding contamination oneself, while having to deal with others.

In the holy gospel today we find only two figures on the stage: the utterly holy Son of God and a woman well-acquainted with sin. Our Lord, under the pretext of wanting to slake his thirst, instructs the woman about the water of a supernatural kind that only He can dispense. The One who asked her for a drink of water was in fact offering her the drink of salvation. The disciples, coming upon the scene, were surprised to see Jesus, the Innocent One, in dialogue with this woman. Their reaction was much like that of the scribes and Pharisees who murmured that Jesus was the guest of “sinners”, the implication being that there is guilt by association. This position is not only a foolish and a rash judgment but is also hypocritical and self-righteous. Everyone must admit that he himself is a sinner, living amidst fellow sinners. This association is inescapable. The art, as I said before, consists in knowing how to avoid falling in with sin while having to live in the society of sinful men.

Today’s thought from the Imitation of Christ cautions us to be vigilant in our judgments about others. We are warned not to be hasty in believing every word we hear. This advice is an echo from the book of Sirach which counsels us to “question a friend, for it is often slander; so do not believe everything you hear...Who has never sinned with his tongue?” (Sir 19:15-16). When others speak, especially with regard to evil about other, we ought to have that sort of caution that carefully and unhurriedly considers all things. Not only do humans have a tendency towards gossip, detraction and slander, but, on the other side, they also have the corresponding weakness of believing all too readily in the evil spoken about another rather than about his good. And so, the wise conclusion from the Imitation is this: “perfect men do not easily believe every tale that is told them, for they know that man’s nature is prone to evil, and his words to deception.”

This kind of talk might possibly be mistaken for skepticism–but that would be an error. We are not counseled to become suspicious about others (which would be a vice) but to acquire that necessary prudence that weighs and estimates things rightly. Prudence is a virtue that makes us cautious, not disbelieving or cynical. It is a habit of evaluating things in a more objective light rather than relying on our predisposition to favor our opinions and biases. Tendentiousness, prejudice, is an inclination we may not be able to avoid entirely, but a virtuous man develops the habit to be slow in drawing conclusions from it and acting accordingly. Certainly, what we think or what we have heard reported about the evil of another should be kept to ourselves. How many sins are committed every day by people who have little self-reflection about their complicity in sins of the tongue!

The Imitation offers yet more for our Lenten meditation today where it exhorts us to “take counsel of a wise and conscientious man; seek to be guided by one who is better than yourself, rather than follow your own opinions.” Of course, this takes a measure of humility–to ask for the good advice of another who is regarded superior to ourselves. But that is also the attitude that makes one submissive to the will of God. The more one is humble, the more he will obey God and the more wise he will have become in judging aright the talk of others.

Returning to the scene at the well, we find not only innocence confronting sin, but divine Wisdom instructing the ignorant. Jesus is the source of eternal life for us. Without his sanctifying grace we would be in mortal sin; without his truth, we would be in the dark of uncertainty and a host of errors about faith. Our Lent is the determination to attach ourselves more securely to Jesus and thereby to draw the needed strength to make those much-needed self-reforms that will make us less like fallen humanity and more like children of God. Christ is the “living water” of our whole life. We thirst for the refreshment that only He can give.