Light and Shadow (II): Morality and Immorality

Picture by Henry & Co. — Unsplash

As I discussed in the last article, Light and Shadow are neither good nor bad. Such is defined by morality itself. I’m not speaking of a mundane morality, because that would mean creating darkness from darkness, which no one can “see”. I’m addressing  Divine Morality, which comes from Light to Shadow and from Shadow to Light.

Every Moral Law will inherently have its counterpart, an Immoral Law. If you want an example, you just have to read the news and see how much corruption still exists even though we have abundant Laws. Now, I won’t discuss the content of the Laws, because there are immoral ones justified as moral, and the opposite of that is also true. What I want to pursue is the fundamental principle for the materialization of a Law and its dual characteristics.

First, we must understand what Morality and Immorality are. Aristotle once said:

In medio virtus est [Virtue is in the middle or in the equilibrium]. And also that Moral virtue is the quality of acting in the best way in relation to pleasures and pains, and that vice is the opposite.

That gives us an initial direction for our reflection. Like all of those who have dwelled on this subject, the ancient Greek philosopher brought to us the comprehension that Morality emerges from natural and social relationships. Hence, he defines the states of virtue and vice in the analysis of what is pleasure and pain. Oftentimes, the conclusion mostly perceived is that Virtue is a result of Suffering, and Pleasure a result of Vice. This is common knowledge nowadays and it’s something that we culturally live by. However, there’s a deeper comprehension of Morality and Immorality that I now invite you to reflect with me. The One who brings this understanding to Light is Jesus:

“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not performed among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin. But now have they seen and hated both My Father and Me. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’” (‭‭John‬, ‭15‬:‭22‬-‭25‬)

Moral Before and After Christ

The words and examples of Jesus are ultimate because He did not cause suffering for Himself nor lead a life devoted to endless pleasure. The Divine Master is and works to be, literally, in God.

And what happened to Him was of tremendous magnitude that brought us the  concept of a time before and after His material presence on Earth. I’m not referring  only in a calendar sense, but in a Spirit as well, because Jesus is still with us.

Now, what can we derive from the story of Christ’s life and teachings? The very definition of Morality and Immorality.

Before the Good Shepherd, we understood Morality as the result of ethical laws (in a broader sense) that originated from relationships that culturally and socially brought pleasure or pain to the individual or to society. After the Ecumenical Christ, we now see Morality as the result of Ethical Laws originating from a relationship with the Divine, and Immorality as the result of Unethical Laws that subjugate the relationship with the Divine.

Divine and Human

How could we realize particular differences between the Divine and the Human in this discussion?

As we study the life of Christ and what He did, we will reach an understanding that the Divine is what transcends the mundane condition and reaches a universal amalgam. Not denying individual particularities, but promoting a balanced movement of the spiritual state that leads to Spiritual Freedom.

On the other hand, the Human is what touches the universal comprehension and generates a restricted particularity, setting the individual and his circumstances in a stagnant spiritual state, leading to Spiritual Imprisonment.

Both are expressed through our actions. But the latter (Human) works to maintain the material and the former (Divine) works to elevate it.

Morality and Immorality

In the Gospel of Jesus, we see Him suffering from the human manifestation of ignorance, which was incarnated by a multitude of men and women; giving birth to the personified idea of satan — the immoral adversary — that carries “the sum of human evilness”, in the words of the late Brother Alziro Zarur (1914-1979).

His story is outstanding because it literally shows what we are capable of doing in our spiritual greatness and/or misery. We have to read the story of Christ as if we were the characters capable of doing both things, defending or accusing Jesus. Thus, defining Morality and Immorality. 

Love is the only thing that can reveal to us Morality as the acceptance of the manifestation of God’s Will. As Christ showed us in His Prayer at the Golgota (John, 17).