MAKE THE PRESENT TIME BENEFICIAL

By Presbyter Marco Mannino-Giorgi

Some meditations on the Apostle for this Sunday, Ephesians 5:8-19.
If St. Paul’s entire concept today is to be children of the Light and to fight darkness and passions (“Do not give yourselves to wine, but rather to the Holy Spirit!”), there is a very interesting verse, the 16th:
“Therefore, watch carefully how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the present time, because the days are evil.”
In the Catholic translation, the term is not redeem, but a generic “profit.” I believe, however, that our Septuagint version is much more profound and correct. If the Christian is called to holiness, he is not simply sent to live in the time in which he was born, but is called to something greater. The Christian is called to sanctify not only himself, but also the world in which he lives. The Christian has the mission to change reality, to “redeem” it, to make it better.
If in the Calvinist mind of the Western translator, wise men “take advantage” of the present time (haggling and selling what they can), in the Orthodox mind, the human being is much more than a passive recipient, but becomes a positive agent of change. The blessed Apostle Paul today invites us to convert our existence. From foolish men to wise men: this is today’s invitation. And how does one become wise? Scripture gives us a fundamental piece of information:
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). And also: “All wisdom comes from the Lord God, the beginning” (Sirach 1).
This is why the holy apostle calls us, first of all, to change ourselves: if we keep the thought of divine judgment with us at all times, our actions, our lives, our daily lives are illuminated by holy thoughts, and everything adapts to the Light. Let us abandon our unhealthy habits and seek the habits of wise men: sobriety, goodness, piety, kindness, and listening to the Word of God.
A few verses earlier, St. Paul calls us not only to a change in our personal attitude, but asks for more:
“The fruit of the light is found in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. Seek what is pleasing to the Lord, and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.”
After improving ourselves, we must openly condemn the works of evil men. Only in this way, by changing our society, will we have fulfilled the Lord’s words: “We will all be one” (cf. John 17:1).
The divine evangelist John, in the Prologue to the Gospel, wonderfully invites us:
“To those who received [the Word], he gave power to become children of God.”

Let us, therefore, welcome the Gospel into our hearts. Let us welcome the instructions of the holy apostles and their successors, the entire Church, who calls us, her children, to sincere repentance and, with today’s words, to become saints and wise. And to work in our society, among our loved ones, among our neighbors. And, as Saint Paul exhorts at the beginning of this chapter:
“Be imitators of God, beloved children.”