For the Good of the World

When we seek to be baptised into Christ we discover that this is more than just words. We are called to incarnate the Gospel as a person and not as an idea. This discovery calls us to be open to discovering how our discipleship is founded on our relationship with the person who brings us life. This is not about us believing that it all starts with us and somehow God joins us on the way. It is actually a way of living which recognises that God always walks with us. This is not about working harder but learning from the person who walks with us. It calls us to be profoundly what God wishes us to be in relationship to the person of Jesus Christ. It calls us into a different way of seeing which opens up the simple ways that everyday allow us to be missionary disciples. By observing others, by providing what is needed and allowing the other to experience life and not death. It is a journey into the person of Christ which changes us so that we can be present to God and each other for the good of the world.

Proclaiming the one who saves us

Whom do we seek? This is the central question of our spiritual journey. We become what we most desire. This is where we need a prayerful unity both with God and the body of Christ. In our search it is necessary to quieten the strident voices both within and without which try to shape us in ways which are not for our good. We can at times be shocked by some of our thoughts which have translated into ways we did not intend. It is easy to become defensive in our life which can say that we do not sin or that at least we do not sin as gravely as somebody else. Yet in allowing God to meet us at our worst and discovering that we can be healed of our weaknesses. This is why we are called to remember the areas of life we most struggle with when we go to confession. It is not so much that we feel shamed into going but a recognition that on our own we just descend into our own swamp. The Good News is that Jesus Christ meets us in that place and allows us to be healed and accompanied in grace. By knowing our areas of greatest weakness God can assist us to allow his light to shine and we discover that we do not walk this path alone. The sacrament of penance allows us to tell what is most troubling us and in that telling to discover that we can be healed and receive absolution. This is not a get out of jail free card but a way of allowing God to meet us in the place of our greatest weakness which reaches out to bring healing, forgiveness and reconciliation to others we meet.

My life for the life of the world

Jesus said:
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world."

The way the meet Jesus in the Eucharist overflows into our daily life. It is the most intimate of encounters where somebody shares their whole life with us so that we may discover what brings us life. This is not just a giving or receiving of something it is a giving and receiving of someone. This opens us the realisation that our lives have eternal worth and that this encounter changes everything. It is all too easy to see this as something we do rather than something we become. We receive Eucharist so that we can become one with Christ. We do not just do this as individuals but as a communion which draws us close to each other. Just as we reverence Jesus in the tabernacle so we should also reverence each other where Jesus becomes the tabernacle of our heart. As Augustine says, "It was in the flesh that Christ walked among us and it is His flesh that He has given us to eat for our salvation." When we genuflect to the tabernacle we honour how God calls us to be present to his saving grace which is for our good and the good of the whole world. We are called to be disciples of that grace which draws us closer to him and closer to each other.

Not at a distance!

How do we perceive God acting in our lives? This is at the heart of our understanding of the Trinity, One God, Three Persons. This truth can be clearly stated as fundamental to our faith but we can struggle to understand what it all means. We state this reality every weekend in the Mass when we proclaim the Creed. Yet it is important that we understand how it touches deeply how we relate to God and each other. There is a sense where at times we can see God at a distance from our lives but the Gospel tells us a different story. Jesus talks about the relationship as one being present to a loving Father in our time. This is a God who sees each life as having eternal worth and that we are all called to enter into that relationship. By given expression to that relationship in our lives, we seek to discover what saves and redeems others rather than condemning them. He gifts us with the Holy Spirit so that we can continue the Mission of building the kingdom of God. We are saved in and through the person of Christ.