Seek the things that are above

In the letter to the Colossians, St Paul outlines an agenda for us which is entirely appropriate for this Eastertide: 

Therefore, if you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above; where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God: Mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth (Col 3: 1-2).

Today's gospel unpacks some of the essence of this command. Addressing his disciples, Saint John the Baptist says:

He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly and speaketh of the earth.

There seem to be two ways to read this line. On the one hand, St John draws the same distinction between 'above' and 'the earth' that St Paul later draws. That which is 'of heaven' implies spirituality and the truth of things. That which is of the earth is 'earthly' and seems to be implicated in a refusal of the Son (which, lest we forget, is a grave sin). 

But in another sense, we know that Jesus is not just from 'above' but also of 'the earth'. He is so much of the earth that nothing but a bodily resurrection would suffice to show His victory over death. Likewise, He is so much 'of the earth' that the channels by which He communicates His grace to us are earthly also. We bathe in the waters of baptism, we assist at a sacramental representation of His sacrifice, and we eat of His flesh and drink of His blood. We too, as His disciples, are of heaven and of earth. The glories of His redemption are given to us through the humble things, and the radiance of His eternal love can be communicated through the lowly gestures that accompany the most apparently mundane of lives. He is the God of pots and pans also. 

This dimension of the Christian life is precisely what is meant by incarnational (cf COLW Book of Life). We pray that everyone whom we meet will find in us 'the Word made flesh in Mary'. If we seek the things that are above in this Eastertide, we should become not less earthly but more earthly in this positive sense. As our hearts are lifted up to Christ, our feet should be more firmly planted on the soil which was blessed by His sacred feet. In that way, we will give our minds less to the the distractions of this earthly life, and enter more into the hidden riches that God has sown in the humble things of this world.