An uncomfortable awareness
Recently a visiting missionary priest presented the congregation with an interesting scenario and a compelling question. He said, “Suppose for a moment that tomorrow morning when you step outside your front door you were to find Jesus physically standing there waiting for you. There he stands beside you with his long hair and beard, clothed in a dazzling white robe with his name embroidered in gold letters above his heart and he tells you that for today you don’t have to concern yourself with anything at all because he has your back and he will speak for you, work for you, do for you all that is needed and necessary.” Then he asked, “Do you believe your behavior would be any different than any other day?”
I am always with you
The collective silence provided all the affirmation that was necessary. The question provoked an uncomfortable awareness for most, an embarrassing realization that what we outwardly profess to believe (our faith) is often completely in opposition to how we interiorly exemplify it. At the heart of the question rests the reality that far too many of us view faith as a mere declarative which requires nothing more than a cursory declaration of belief, a simple statement that affirms, “I believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior” or “I believe in God, the Father Almighty.”
But faith, to which I mean true faith in God, requires more than a detached recitation of belief. “Faith is first of all a personal adherence of man to God”[1] and that demands a steadfast devotion and fidelity above and beyond an utterance of words. Saint Thomas Aquinas tells us that faith is an act of the intellect.[2] Acts obligate one to action and actions always speak louder than words.
The final chapter of the Gospel of Matthew ends with what biblical scholars call the Great Commission. It is where Jesus says to his disciples (and to each one of us,) “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”[3] It is here that Jesus clearly tells us where he will always be for he says “I am with you always” and that means yesterday, today, and all the tomorrows yet to come. He has commissioned us to move beyond our own personal statement of faith and to go out and gather everyone unto him.
In truth we are called by Jesus to live our faith as intentional disciples reaching beyond what is least required and accepting what is demanded by the Great Commission. It is our sacred duty, commissioned by God’s only Son, to know, live, and share our faith with others. We cannot call ourselves Christian if our lives do not reflect open affection and true devotion to Jesus Christ. Our faith demands an unwavering willingness and eagerness to profess it, live it, suffer for it, and at times even to die in defense of it.
So knowing that Jesus is always with you, you might behave accordingly as you step outside your door.
[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 150.
[2] Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica II-II, 2, 9.
[3] Mt 28:18-20.
