I would like to continue the conversation regarding being the best we can be. Last time we talked about things that we were good at and how hard we worked to perfect our natural talents. Today I would like to consider the same idea and see how it applies to Christian faith.
Obviously, while we many of us proclaim Christianity as our faith, we don’t live up to its code and certainly not its demands. Let’s face it Christianity is a pretty tough road to hoe. The concept of loving yourself and loving your neighbor as yourself sounds wonderful as an abstract concept, but to apply it, that’s another story.
Sure we, for the most part, try to be good people. We try to be civil. We certainly try to be good to our families and friends. We give some money to charity. And yes generally live by what most people would consider a reasonably decent life. However, if you look at the New Testament closely, and study carefully what Jesus demands of us, it doesn’t take long to see how off the mark we are from its original intent.
I wonder why it’s this way. Perhaps because human beings like being let off the hook so to speak. I wonder how most of us would’ve reacted when compared to the man who went to Jesus and said, “I’m a believer, what must I do” and Jesus said, “sell everything and follow me?"* Would we be, in fact, any different than he was? He simply wasn’t up to the task and for the most part, neither are we. “Matthew 19:21”
Again, I have to be careful here and not be too critical - most of us try to conduct our Christian lives by the example that has been set for us. Obviously, that standard isn’t the same as the one we read in the New Testament. Even though most of us believe it is.
Certainly, Jesus set the tone and norm by living the way he did and accepting His death on the cross as a gift of life, freely given to each of us. Does he expect within the happenings of our life the same sense of sacrifice from each of us? It’s easy to reconcile this by simply saying after all he was God.
This makes it easier to accept. It also makes it easier for us to reject the completeness of his sacrifice as a message for us to live the same way. After all were only human beings, and the very term suggests selfishness and weakness that are beyond the sacrifice that Jesus asks of all of us. Sound harsh?
Perhaps - I often think it is myself, but it is also the message, unmistakably clear in its meaning. I think we make a serious mistake when we don’t fully grasp how far off the mark we may be even though we consider ourselves good Christians.
This might be a good time for all of us to reflect on where we stand in our charity to our neighbors and the world. I think this would apply regardless of our faith, or non-faith for that matter. Certainly, there are agnostic humanists and atheists who set the same standards of service for themselves as Christians do. So we can apply this yardstick across a broad surface and see how we measure up as a people.
When we reflect long enough and finally realize our imperfections and lack of complete commitment, it inevitably leads to the subject of mercy. More later – – –
Brother Giovanni
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