Word to the Wise
Sunday, March 10, 2013 - 4th Sunday of Lent - B
[Joshua 5:9a, 10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11-32]Whoever is in Christ is a new creation: The old things have passed away; behold new things have come. And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation.....So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
Can you think of yourself as a "new creation" or as an "ambassador for Christ?" St. Paul uses this to describe his ministry, but his ministry is no different from that to which we are commissioned by our baptism! In his Letter to the Romans [6:3-4] he tells us that through our baptism we are identified with Christ and become participants in his life, death and resurrection.
We Catholics are uncomfortable, as a general rule, with aggressive evangelization. Yet I think most of us would agree with the power of good example. If we live our life of faith in a sincere manner, those around us cannot help but notice. I remember, sometimes with amusement, that nothing I could say by way of argument or apologetic proofs would make the impression on my dormitory acquaintances in college that my getting up early to go to Mass did! I would be coming back from Mass about the time they would be trudging their way to the cafeteria or class. They would say, "Are you just getting in?" I would reply, "Nope! Just been to Mass!" There was nothing they could say in reply to that!
This weekend I begin a parish mission in Leonardtown, MD. I hope I can help the folks who come to the mission to recognize that they are indeed "ambassadors for Christ." If I can help them realize what kind of example they are giving to their neighbor, or what kind of example they could give to their neighbor, I think they will realize just how much an ambassador they are or could be. The same challenge faces all of us who are baptized. Are we really "ambassadors for Christ?" AMEN