How we can be Christ’s brothers and sisters

CHRIST defined it very clearly. When told that his mother, Mary, was in the crowd wanting to see him while he was preaching, he said, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.” (Lk 8,21) 

 It was not, of course, meant to demean his mother, but rather to praise her. That’s because if there was anyone who fitted perfectly the description of who his mother and brothers were, it could be none other than Mary. She heard the word of God and acted on it consistently and to the limit. 

 We, too, if we want to be a member of God’s family, should learn how to hear the word of God and to act on it all the time. This will take a lot of effort, together of course with God’s grace, for us to achieve, given the way we are. That is why we have to start to do something about this as early as possible. 

 The first thing to do is to know where we can hear the word of God and how we can act on it. It’s actually knowing and acting on God’s will every moment of our life. God’s will is known by studying the doctrine of our faith. What can also help is to be familiar with the living testimonies of saints who had managed to know, love and obey God’s will. 

 We can also know God’s will, at least in some generic way, by performing, as best that we can, all the duties and responsibilities as well as the rights inherent to our conditions or status in life, whether we are single or married, student or professional, etc. 

 We should also realize that God’s will can be known by having a running conversation with God all day long. We have to realize that God’s will is always manifested in any and every situation we can find ourselves in. 

 That’s because he is always intervening in our life. It’s a matter therefore of discerning it by having presence of God all throughout the day, if not, a conversation where we can ask him directly what he wants us to do in any given moment. 

 His will is known by what any situation ethically demands from us, and also by what the others have a right to expect from us or what we owe to them. 

 We have to remember that our will is meant to be engaged with the will of God, its creator and lawgiver. Our will is the very power we have been given by God that enables us to unite ourselves with God in the most intimate way. All the other aspects of our life are also governed by God-given laws but, by themselves they cannot bring us into intimate union with God, unless moved by our will that is animated by God’s grace. 

 We cannot and should not expropriate our will to simply be our own. We are meant only to be stewards of it, not its owner nor its designer, creator and lawgiver. It has to submit itself to the will of God, otherwise it would be working without proper foundation and purpose. 

 Everyday, we have to find practical ways of how we can unite our will with God’s will. Our will should not just be floating around on its own, thinking that it is how it enjoys its freedom. Let’s be careful with that mindset which, unfortunately, is very common these days.

We are meant to give and share

THAT’S the lesson we can get when Christ said that “no one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.” (Lk 8,16) 

 And he continued by saying that “there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light,” practically warning us that there is really no point keeping secrets because in the end everything will be known. 

 We should be as transparent as possible. The only exception is when, given our limited and wounded human condition, we need to practice some discretion since certain matters are subject to confidentiality for one legitimate reason or another. 

 And then Christ rounded up the whole thing by saying that “to anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away.” This obviously is a very clear indication that we really need to give and share what God has given and shared with us. 

 We need to understand that our life, whether considered in its purely natural aspect or in its supernaturally oriented spiritual dimension, that is, particularly our Christian life, is by definition a shared life. It’s a shared life with God and with everybody and everything else. 

 I think we need to be reminded of this fundamental truth about ourselves, since there are now many tricky factors around us that tend to undermine this important character of our life. They make us think our life is just our own. 

 In fact, I would say that we need to develop the skills not only to protect and keep this property of our life, but also to continually reinforce and enhance it. That’s because our life is always a dynamic affair, with new challenges and changing circumstances. 

 We cannot remain naïve and think that our life more or less would just automatically be a shared life. Some people say so, because they claim we cannot avoid sharing our life with others. 

 To a certain extent, that assertion is true. But neither can we be blind to the fact that we and the world in general have ways, often subtle and deceptive, that effectively negate this shared characteristic of our life. 

 But why is our life a shared life? Firstly, because that’s how we are made, how we have been hard-wired. That we have intelligence and will, that we have feelings, memory, imagination, etc., can only show we are meant to be with others, we are meant to go out of our own world. They are not there just for our own private enjoyment. 

 But more importantly, especially for those with Christian faith, it’s because God created us that way. We are the image and likeness of God, elevated through grace to be nothing less than children of his. 

 And since God is love, is self-giving, we therefore cannot be other than that—that is, we are meant to love also and to give ourselves to others. Thus, God’s commandments to us always exhort us to love, first Him, and then everybody else. 

 We actually are sharers of God’s divine life. Of course, with the misuse of our freedom, we can lose that most sublime privilege. But there is no doubt, through faith, that we are meant to share in God’s life. 

 And we should give our all in sharing what we have with God first, and then with everybody else as a consequence!

The “good life” can be a sweet poison

THAT gospel parable about the rich man and the poor man, Lazarus, reminds us of the danger of the so-called “good life” where due to our status, privileges and other endowments, we tend to live in our own world and can become indifferent and insensitive to the needs of the others. (cfr. Lk 16,19-31) 

 Let’s be reminded that the privileges, favors and blessings we enjoy in life are meant for us to strengthen our desire to serve and not to be served. But as it is, we should try to avoid them, since they tend only to spoil and corrupt us. 

 We have to be most wary when we happen to enjoy some privileged positions or status in life because we tend to think that we deserve more entitlements. And not only would we expect them. We may even demand them for us. 

 This, sad to say, seems to be a common phenomenon these days. It can affect everyone, of course, but it especially affects the young ones who appear to be more privileged than those in the previous generations because of the many new things they are learning and enjoying now. And they feel entitled. 

 We should banish this temptation as soon as it makes its appearance felt in us. On the contrary, we should follow the example of Christ who, in spite of who he was, just wanted to serve. 

 We should develop the intense desire to have a special concern for those who have less in life, like the simple and the weak, the sick and disabled, the children and the poor. 

 This truth of our faith is somehow highlighted in that gospel episode where Christ preached about the need to be like little children to enter the kingdom of heaven, to care and not to despise the little children, and his intent was always to look after the lost sheep, regardless of the cost and effort involved. (cfr. Mt 18,1-5.10.12-14) 

 If we are truly Christian, we should have true and abiding compassion toward everyone, especially the poor and the needy. But we have to understand that compassion should have a universal coverage. It should not be limited to the sentimental aspects of things, nor simply the relieving of the economic and material needs of people alone. 

 It should cover the whole range of human needs in their proper order of importance, foremost of which is our need for God. We have to learn to distinguish between the pressing and precious needs of man, and to cope with the tension that sometimes arises in our effort to put these two kinds of human needs together. 

 When we happen to have the “good life,” we should take the initiative to look for ways of how to get involved more in the lives of others, helping them in any way. Like Christ, our heart should flow always with compassion, quick to notice the needs of others and to respond to them. 

 It’s an example that we should all try to imitate. One deep desire we should have is that of making as some kind of default mode that attitude of thinking always of the others, wishing them well all the time and doing whatever we can to help. 

 It’s obviously not easy to do, but we can always try. With God’s grace and with our persistent effort, we can little by little and day by day hack it, such that it becomes second nature to us to think and feel for the others. That’s what compassion is all about.