Self: (normal thought) Call me strange, but I actually find comfort in condemning myself. It reminds me that I need Christ for salvation. And as long I am on the earth, I can strive to be a better person.

Conscience: (Blaring) If you do improve, don't let success get to your head.

S: Of course not. Success can always be attributed to something outside of myself - like the power of the Holy Spirit.

C: Whatever that means.

S: That way successes don't distract me from the truth of truths, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23)."

C: Good. Eternally, your conscience rests clear by grace through faith in Christ.

S: Yeah, but daily, I wonder what I've got to work with.

C: Careful, self-appreciation might tempt you away from faith in Christ alone.

S: Is there good in me?

C: This is dangerous!

S: Do I dare wonder? What would other people think of me then? What if I did find good but it wasn't good enough? What if I fall into self-idolatry?

P: (Quietly raising to awareness) See how this works?

S: Wait, I see how this works. I am already idolizing myself. My vanity, fear, and my quasi-pious need to deny my own goodness are creating the self-absorbed person I am so afraid of becoming.

P: Yes, there is good in me.

C: Heresy! What of the Law that cuts you to the quick, revealing you dead to your own works?

S: The good in me might include the image of God, the baptismal gifts of the Spirit, the presence of Christ through the Eucharist, and a stirring love that I can't explain.

P: Yes, there is good in me, but my daily life is not consistent with that goodness.

C: Sinner! What of the Law that shows you who you really are?

S: In a way, it's a gift. I can sense a real, honest faith desperately wanting to love. What a relief - I'm not fundamentally evil! I am just incapable of loving fully and authentically.

P: Yes, there is good in me, but my daily life is not consistent with that goodness. The Cross and the Resurrection open the possibility for authentic life.

C: Liar! What of the Law that is insurmountable in life and leads you to your Savior?

S: Doesn't that Law seem kind of secondary, when you consider the Cross and the Resurrection? However, it does help me ponder the significance of Christ's passion for my daily life.

P: Yes, there is good in me, but my daily life is not consistent with that goodness. The Cross and the Resurrection open the possibility for authentic life. We are transformed by God's work in daily life.

C: Cheater! What of the Law that puts YOU alone on the hot seat?

S: Isn't it bigger than the old rules? I am not alone! All of a sudden, it is WE being transformed. As part of the body of Jesus Christ, I am interconnected with the other members around me. God is at work in this place. He is intricately involved in the lives of His people and His created world. There is immediacy to salvation! He intends to be present to this world through me.

C: Idolater! What of the Law -

S: You have tried that approach before. Do not hide from the Gospel behind the Law. To deny that I am capable of faith, hope, and love after coming to faith in the Cross and Resurrection is to deny the presence of Christ in His children.

C: You think you're so important that Christ would dwell in you?!

S: It's the other way around. I am important because Christ dwells in me. "The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God"(Gal. 2:20). My life is important because it is a unique experience of Christ at work in the world. I have been moved to love. The One who shapes the true Me fuels my love. No one else can share the very same story, yet the plot is always the same! We, together, are the Body of Christ.

C: And what if you sin?

S: And when I sin, for there is no if, Christ will heal me, and transform me and His Spirit will seep through the cracks of my inauthenticity. I am brought back not to the Law, but to the Cross and Resurrection…a renewing possibility.

C: And the "Body of Christ" you have sinned against?

S: The Body is not a judge that will cast me out, but it is the presence of Christ himself to confer grace. The shadow of the Law remains a part of our story, yet we stand together in the light of the Cross and Resurrection.

P: Eucharist…

S: Ah, sweet Eucharist! I am beginning to see it is more than a preview of the future or a reconnection with the historic events of the Cross & Resurrection. Think of it! We have a Eucharist of transformation! The body of Christ is taken into my flesh - there is Good in me! The authentic Body of Christ stands joined together, despite the inauthenticity of its parts. We experience life as it should be. We are trained to recognize the presence of Christ in our neighbor. We are called to let the Good within us seep through.

C: Yeah, try that one with a layperson.

S: Ah, sweet Eucharist! I don't understand the mysteries, but this moment is the center of my life. God knows my hidden thoughts, and still puts Himself inside of me. I feel close to my family, but also a deep connection to Christians everywhere. I am reminded that life is short, but eternally meaningful! Your grace is close to us, not far away in a distant heaven. What a gift…you don't ask me to be anything I am not already. Lord, be with me as I walk away from this table. Help me to be the person you are revealing right now. Help me to love like this.

C: They'll get more transformation out of self-help materials.

P: The Source of Goodness…the possibility of authentic living…

S: We operate with one foot in heaven's reality. We know the Source of Goodness, and it is not our will power. Self-help materials may articulate our struggles and provide insight for growth, but ultimately, the possibility for that growth and the authentic life is opened by what Christ has done. Efforts that stem from somewhere else are bound to end in frustration.

C: Fine, pamper yourself with something nice. You deserve it.

P: …transformed by God's work in daily life.

S: My motivation isn't about whether or not I deserve something. I am wondering how God is using every moment and experience to reveal himself to me and prepare me to reveal him to others. I am of worth and value in God's eyes. As such, he uses daily life to shape and form me. The world's blanket pampering is meaningless.

C: Well, aren't you becoming the spiritual guru?

P: There is space between his frustration and my Reality.

S: God is working in me to reconcile my Conscience, my Self, and His Presence. My tension and frustration are covering pain and fear. They are the emotional leftovers of a long life under the Law. Christ is removing and absorbing all that is not goodness. In this transformation I am becoming more authentic in my encounter with life, death, and emotions in light of His Presence.

C: Would meditation help us?

P: Listen…

S: Meditation helps us listen. By faith we are confident of the Presence that becomes more apparent in the quiet. Christ is dwelling in us through the Holy Spirit. We do not create a god, attain godship, or empty ourselves into nothingness. Meditation is a submission to God's Presence that is already saturating our world. It is a call to rest in His love, experience His healing, and to listen…

P: Yes, there is good in me, but my daily life is not consistent with that goodness. The Cross and the Resurrection open the possibility for authentic life. We are transformed by God's work in daily life.