“Between Two Worlds” by Karen Dziekonska, Fiat Ventures
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
The fall of my sophomore year in college, I had the opportunity to go on a weekend retreat themed “Between Two Worlds”. About a year before that, I had a return back to my faith, was filled with God’s love and joy and all of a sudden I was interested in learning more about our faith and the Church. However, I still wasn’t confident when explaining to people why I chose to start practicing my faith again, so that led to some tension at times with friends. At that point, I really did feel like I was torn between two worlds.
I had just spent the summer after freshmen year with my friends from high school and, although most were pretty supportive, others made me feel like Jeremiah from our first reading. I was doing something great, I was a better person, and I just wanted to share my joy with others, but like Jeremiah, I was mocked, not taken seriously, and accused of being brainwashed. Maybe they were right; maybe I hadn’t changed for the better and this was a lie. I definitely felt duped by God.
Now I was back at school and spending a lot of time in my Catholic circles (pretty ironic because I went to a very large, secular college). But I was still torn between my two lives, so I decided this retreat theme would be perfect for me. This retreat would solve all my problems and I’d finally be able to live in God’s world and close my doors to the other. Well that’s not exactly what happened.
The Bible passage the retreat focused on was Romans 12:2. St. Paul wrote:
Do not conform yourselves to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that way you discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.
That’s exactly what I was trying to do. I was renewed! I wasn’t conforming to this age; I was practically trying to escape it. I was doing everything right! Right?
Wrong! I was being very selfish. Yes, we are called not to conform to this world, but that doesn’t mean completely disconnecting from it. We’re called to transform this world! But can a Scripture verse written almost two thousand years ago still be relevant today?
Maybe you’ve heard the phrase, “we’re in this world but not of it”? As Christians, we are physically in this world and live in this age, but we are no longer ruled by sin or bound by the principles or values of the world. The devil wants us to conform to the ways of the world (and yes, he’s real, not just a cartoon with horns and a pitchfork – but more on that another time) to the lies, habits and values that the world has to offer. But we don’t have to take it.
We can choose to live in this world but still follow Christ and transform others while doing so. We are flooded with messages from the world about how to dress, speak, act, and who to be. But we can be examples and dress in a way that upholds our dignity, speak in words of love and encouragement, serve the way Jesus showed us, and be who God created us to be. We wouldn’t be very good apostles if we stayed behind closed doors; we are in this world to transform and to be lights to others.
The retreat showed me that I can’t live between two worlds, but I also can’t cut one of them out. Over the years, my high school friends have accepted me, and as my confidence and knowledge of the faith has grown, I’ve been able to better answer questions and have great conversations with them that just might have sparked something in their hearts. God is using us as lights; in our families, at our workplace and with our friends. And although we might not see the whole transformation, God’s not done with this world yet!
