Forever becoming Jesus
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said the dividing line between good and evil “cuts through the heart of every human being.” God constantly calls us into the light, to repent from the areas of wrongdoing in our lives.
The voodoo lily has a flowery spike cradled by a leaf of deep purple. Its stunning beauty makes it famous in botanical gardens world-wide. Yet its stench is “like dead mice in a plastic bag,” one specialist described.
Our beauty surpasses that of the lily. We are Christ, “incense to God for those who are being saved.” (2 Cor. 2:15). We bear the aroma of Christ to the world. Jesus walks with us and has placed the Holy Spirit in our hearts to help us and guide us.
Jesus grows in us best in our Eucharistic worship. Jesus in us happens when we gather, two or more, to share the word and the Eucharist. We become what we receive, St Augustine said.
Spirituality is a growing consciousness of the Divine life in us. Being the body of Christ, the church, we need to make every to effort to be Jesus in our love and service to others. It is good to develop a consciousness of Christ’s presence in us. As the body of Christ, we measure our behaviour accordingly.
“To listen to the word and not obey is like looking at your own features in a mirror and then, after a quick look, going off and immediately forgetting what you looked like” (James 1:23-24). A Christ consciousness should be like a growing self consciousness.
Our spiritual journey is on-going. We do not wait until we are worthy to follow Jesus. Perfection will come later and only with the help of God. In his dialogues with Sister Josefa (A Message of Mercy), Jesus consoles Josefa when she is feeling abandoned and distressed.
Jesus reassures her, "Fear not! I work in the dark. But my Work will come to light, so that one day all will admire it in all its details." (August 30, 1923). He also exhorted her: "Let yourself be led with your eyes closed, for I am your Father and mine are open to lead and guide you." (September 18, 1923).
Being Jesus to others is not complicated. Maija-Kaarina Mäkinen shares this story:
I often saw my neighbour’s face staring from an apartment window. I thought to myself, “Isn’t it sad that someone would constantly look out their window, judging their neighbours’ activities?”
Then one day I thought perhaps I should go ask to see if I could be of some help. I decided to take some fresh-baked bread with me. The warm bread melted the ice in my elderly neighbour's heart. Tearfully she told me how lonely she felt. No one visited her and no one called her, not even her own children. With a trembling hand, she wiped tears from her cheeks.
She sighed and then said, “How nice it would be to just leave this world. I don’t judge anyone as I look out my window. I just watch the children playing and other things going on in the yard.”
Over time, we talked about the gospel. …the more we talked, the more impressed she became with the truths I shared about Jesus Christ and His restored gospel.
“It’s wonderful that we have the same Jesus!” she said. “Will we see each other in heaven?”
“Yes,” I responded, “we will be there together—hand in hand.”
(578 words)
