Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Christian Life

Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

I want to echo the words that Jesus himself proclaimed and still proclaims: “Reform your lives! The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17) These words indicate several things about Jesus’ message. The first is the need for inner conversion, one that is reflected in our lives totally. The second is the coming of the kingdom of heaven is no light matter and requires a dedication of the entire life to repentance.

I want to first issue a warning concerning presumption. I will clearly say that “whenever a person knows the right thing to do and does not do it, he sins. Therefore seek only after the Lords will, in all things say ‘If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that.’” Thus, in your daily ways, in your plans and will, you do not go against God in presuming in favor of your own earthly desires against his will. Instead be resolved to live according to Christ. We are all called to the one body of Christ: all of us to participate as members of it. If you have come to love Christ in your heart then begin your new life in him beginning with baptism. Baptism saves you through the resurrection of Christ, giving you a conscience clear from the stain of sin. You, who are already baptized then, have a duty to live out your lives only in Christ, striving to become indistinguishable from him, so that in everything it is Christ working in you. Baptism is much more than just a mere symbol, it is an institution of Christ, a command for all believers, all who obey Christ’s command do the will of God the father who sent him.

You are baptized into a life of faith. What is faith? Is it only the intellectual assent and affirmation that Christ is Lord? That is only a fraction of what Faith means. Faith is a living reality in the lives of man, the living belief in how we conduct our lives in response to who God is and why Jesus came to save; this is thus when united with hope and love becomes a standing pillar that supports a Christian in living out a life according to the plan of the eternal Father. All who have faith, true faith, live out their faith, not only proclaim it, but live by it. Living by the word of God is the nature of Faith, not simply knowing, but living its precepts and duties. This is what it means to be faithful. A man is faithful in marriage not by saying that his wife is his wife, but by living as if she was. A man that neglects his family cannot be said to be faithful in marriage. So too is the Christian that neglects his duty, he cannot be said to have been faithful to the living word of God: Jesus Christ. True proclamation of Christ occurs not on the tongue or in the mind, but in the actions that unite us to the love of Christ on the cross. Every act of faith therefore is not performed alone, but also by the one who has Faith in us also. Therefore living by faith is a dynamic process. Those who have fidelity to who Christ is should also have fidelity to his teaching. What do we have faith in? It is the truth that we have faith in. God is Truth, and Jesus is the word of Truth, therefore, our Faith in Christ is Faith in Truth. The scriptures say that all truth comes from God and that the pillar of Truth is Christ’s Church (1 Tim 3:15); the Church is a standing deposit of the True Faith. Therefore those who are obedient to the Church here on earth, are not obedient to some earthly authority, but directly obedient to God in heaven. No one can have true obedience without love, and no one can love alone. Take this analogy: No man can truly love the daughter of another man, without loving the other man as Father. Similarly, children naturally love their mother. The Church is the bride of Christ; we then who love Christ also love the Church his bride as our Mother in Faith. We cannot love one without the other, since they are bonded together in one love, inseparable, as Christ himself said in the gospels. Mother Church points to Christ, in the example of Mary the Mother of Christ at the wedding feast of Cana. As commanded by Christ, the Church, who like a true wife is subordinate to him and Christ as true husband loves his Church, nourishes us with the faith it passes on from generations to generation.
Therefore what we inherit from the Church is not from the Church alone, but we also inherit from Christ. We have inherited the word of God from Christ’s church, a culmination of the Holy Spirit actively at work within the Church, therefore every word we believe was inspired by the mouth of God. Let no man then decide against what God has decided for through his Church; let no one take or add, only living and knowing in his will of our obedience and trusting and believing in God’s Justice and Mercy. The word has been entrusted to God’s Church to both proclaim and to protect. Therefore the authority of God’s Church here on earth is authorized by Christ who raises for himself men and women whom he acts through in the pastoral and ministerial tasks of his Church in the proclamation of the good news. From the lowliest to the greatest among us, we there’re should seek Christ in everyone.

Let everyone be prudent then against the work of the evil one who wishes to disguise his sinfulness with goodness. Anyone that claims to live in Christ but says in his heart I will bear no cross of suffering fools himself. Our cross is our grace, our burden is light because of Christ on the cross, yet as faithful servants of Christ have our duties to perform in faithfulness to his truth and character. This then requires all our efforts; to live in Christ is to die to the world. This is no easy sacrifice, but our strength is not our own and when we are weak God is strongest. Therefore, a Christian life is about taking on suffering in the name of Christ living his faith inherited by us from his Church.
Those of us who sin must seek forgiveness and should do so often and wholeheartedly. Those who seek forgiveness must forgive and live forgiven. True forgiveness is the result of penance in the desire of the fires of God’s love. Jesus has given his Church the power to forgive sins on earth, through him. He said: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven them; if you hold them bound, they are held bound. (John 20:23)”.
All Christians are called to live in a state of grace. For Christians this begins with baptism. Christians can fall from a state of grace, but it can be restored also. Christians that fall from grace, do so as a result of mortal sin, which is sin that places a soul in danger of hell. Mortal sins are characterized by two points: it involves grave matter (seriousness) and it is done willingly with a choice against conscience and against God’s will. The importance of staying in a state of grace is directly tied to love. For example: A husband and a wife can help each other remain in a state of grace if they both place their faith in truth and decide to live by it as well as utilize their complimentary characteristics to assist the other in staying pure. This is one, example, and the result is a new found appreciation for both the goodness in life as well as an increase in love for God as a result of the experiences of truth in the love between a man and his wife. The same can be applied to nearly every other type of relationship. The experiences of Truth in a relationship strengthen the relationship and points back to God. In order to do so, conscious decisions must be made to avoid the pitfalls of sin and to choose to live truth. The important matter is obedience to Truth, shared mutually, such that the love of truth is translated into a pastoral love for one another. All Christians are called to be both shepherd and sheep, as an image of Christ who is both our sacrificial lamb, and our Good shepherd. Christian’s are shepherds to one another when they act in the ways of Christ wholeheartedly. In the same sense we are also sheep to one another, with a need to follow in the right paths of truth and love—we are also called to be a people of sacrifice in emulation of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice at Calvary for our sakes. All of this is a reflection of our true nature as sheep before Christ, the good Shepherd. We are all called to also emulate Christ being shepherds for the flocks in our own lives.
Christians will find a great benefit in life by paying attention to the words of Christ that speak, rather whisper, into our hearts and minds through the normal events and people in our lives. By being observant and watching and meditating on these daily and somewhat commonplace events we can discover connections between the simple things and the mysteries of God, which is an enormous abundant source of grace. The connection between the Church’s teaching, Scripture, and our own lives should all point, give witness, and testify to the reality of God’s love, care, and mercy in everyone’s lives.

A Christian life is characterized by Humility. Humility is a virtue that opens us up to Christ and his many graces. It is exactly this point that Jesus asks us to become like a child in anticipation of his kingdom. No trust is more genuine than that trust of an innocent child. When a child accepts something in its heart, it is always before them in their minds, and their hope is nearly unwavering. Jesus therefore wants us to rely upon him, to be meek and humble of heart, giving up everything, only trusting in his goodness. It is always best to work as follows, do all things towards the Pride of God, to boast in God’s name, at the same time to never presume for one’s self God’s favor, which rests to be revealed only at the final Judgment. It is in working towards God’s favor, not out of the favor itself, but out of obedience and trust, truly waiting for God’s will to be done, that is the proper attitude of a Christian. Those of us that say in our hearts: “We are already saved, I am in the hand of God, and He will not let me go” fail in one critical way in regards to humility: the surety of salvation for one’s self is the equivalent of the surety that one has claimed God’s favor already and that they have claimed God’s final judgment now; rather, it is a wise Christian’s best interest to take after the advice given in the lesson of the servant’s attitude in Luke 17:7-10: “When you have done all you have been commanded, say ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’” This insight reminds us that Jesus wants us to have a humble attitude in everything, including salvation. Then it shall be like the lesson about humility in Luke 14:8-11 for the one who exalts himself will be humbled and the ‘one who humbles himself shall be exalted.’ Therefore in all things Christians should practice humility. Presumption about salvation and God’s judgment and favors is dangerous because it lacks humility on the part of the ones who are truly lowly. Every Child seeks to make its parents proud by what they do. It is not until the work is done that a child can be sure of their parent’s favor. The child that claims his parent’s favor before hand is a foolish one and arrogant in the heart.

Hence, let us love wisdom as a lover, and be prudent in our actions, being careful to not boast, and to practice every virtue with exacting care. Christians will find it most rewarding to approach worship with reverence especially that which promotes the guidance of the heart and mind and soul to a greater love for God and does not take lightly the realities of life.
I have written these things for our benefit, so that with wisdom we can come to know our Lord Jesus Christ and believe in him by following the precepts he has given us for salvation. May the Almighty Father bless each and every one of you with the peace this world cannot give and that we will do all things in his son’s name: Jesus Christ, whom we are lead to by the Holy Spirit our Advocate for Christ.
Amen.

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