I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. Isaiah 1:2
Have you ever rebelled against God? I know that I have–repeatedly. It might not look like outright rebellion, but I have definitely resisted God’s will for me in various ways. The rebellion usually sounds like this: “I want (insert situation here) to go my way!” This willful disobedience leads to anger, resentment, and conflict in my soul.
It’s only through prayerful reflection that God has revealed these various rebellions to me, but the refrain can always be traced back to pride and control. When I reject God the Father’s plan, I reject His sovereign reign, His Kingdom in Christ. I place my will above His will, which is “love and mercy itself” (St. Faustina – Diary… 1074).
A Mendacious Seduction
In this Sunday’s readings, we see the effects of rebellion in the consequences from the Fall of Man (Genesis 3:9-15). Satan tempted Eve to rebel against God’s will, and the destructive spiral began. The Catechism teaches that the fallen angels “radically and irrevocably rejected God and his reign. We find a reflection of that rebellion in the tempter’s words to our first parents: ‘You will be like God’” (CCC 392). It goes on: “In its consequences the gravest of these works [of the devil] was the mendacious seduction that led man to disobey God” (CCC 394). (By the way, “mendacious” means “lying”–I had to look that one up!)
sin…is disobedience, a revolt against God through the will to become ‘like gods,’ knowing and determining good and evil. Sin is thus ‘love of oneself even to contempt of God. In this proud self-exaltation, sin is diametrically opposed to the obedience of Jesus, which achieves our salvation. (CCC 1850)
In our Gospel reading (Mark 3:20-35), the scribes accused Jesus of being possessed by Satan. They couldn’t accept that His goodness and mercy was truly from God the Father, so they rebelled against Him. What a twist of falsity to accuse the Lord Himself of being controlled by the devil.
“He cannot prevent the building up of God’s reign…Although Satan may act in the world out of hatred for God and his kingdom in Christ Jesus…the action is permitted by divine providence which with strength and gentleness guides human and cosmic history.” CCC 395
To Thwart Rebellion: Begin With Repentance
So what can we do? Because of original sin, we are able to be tempted to rebel and often fall into this trap. First, we can repent from the sin of pride and take our rebellion to sacramental confession. Confession absolves past sins and drives out the tendency to sin. A good Confession opens us up to receiving the graces we need to persevere against rebellion (see CCC 1496).
Seek Truth, Reject Lies
Another thing we can do is to pray and ask for God’s grace to see the truth in whatever situation we are faced with that’s causing us to rebel. Jesus said, “He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). We can ask God to reveal the truth of His plan to us. We can ask ourselves, “What lie is Satan telling me about this situation?” When we can see the lies for what they are, we can reject them in Jesus’ name. It might sound like this: “In the name of Jesus, I reject the lie that (insert lie here).”
Cultivate Humility
A key way that we can thwart rebellion is to cultivate the virtues that are opposite of spiritual pride: humility and obedience, the antidotes to rebellion against God. St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) wrote about the peace we find in Christ’s kingdom when we are poor in spirit: “The kingdom of heaven in which the poor in spirit already share on earth is peace. Because they desire nothing other than what God has intended for them, and since they have no other will than God’s will, there can be no more conflict between them and God, no rebellion, no separation. And so they have already entered into his rest.” Humility–poverty of spirit–allows us to let go of our need to control things and to have them “my way.” We can pray for God to give us the grace to replace pride with humility.
Practice Intentional Obedience
Obedience to God requires us to act on our repentance. By that I mean that we can say we’ve repented from a behavior, but then go right back to the same sinful habit. We can act on our feelings and take St. John Henry Newman’s advice to “hasten to commit yourselves to certain definite acts of obedience” when we have feelings of repentance (Sermon 9, “The Religious Use of Excited Feelings,” 117). We can pray and ask God to help us make a concrete resolution to obey His will and leave rebellion behind. Perhaps He will ask us to consistently pray for a person in the situation, to do a kind act for him or her, or to offer some self denial or fasting for this situation. Whatever Gog might reveal to you in this situation, strive to carry it through obediently.
“…a determination to obey God’s will strictly in ordinary matters tends, through His blessing, to calm and comfort the mind, and to bring it out of perplexity into the clear day.” (Sermon 18, “Obedience the Remedy..,” 242)
Confession releases us from sinful rebellion and strengthens us through God’s grace. The truth frees us from the lies of the devil. The virtues of humility and obedience protect us from sin, bring us God’s peace, and keep us in His love. This is how God can transform our hearts from rebellion and conform them to be more like the Sacred Heart of the Son, Jesus Christ.
Father, I repent from trying to control the situation that I am rebelling against. I know that I cannot let go of this on my own, and that I need Your grace and love to wash me clean from it. Help me to see Your truth. Please plant the virtue of humility in my heart in place of the weedy sin of pride that has taken root. Help me to be obedient to whatever you are asking of me in this situation, and may my obedience bring me Your peace.