A Perspective on True Christianity

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Over the years, people have defined a serious Christian to mean the one who doesn't miss the Mass or Service, who prays everyday and who speaks in strange tongues or who pays tithe in church. But are these enough to qualify someone as a Christian? Can we align this display of piety in pari passu with those of the early Christians in Antioch in Pisidia- a way of life that made the people call them "Christians" because they behaved like Christ?
The truth is that being a Christian goes beyond being a churchman or woman; it is more than trying to pray better and longer than Jesus taught and did. It is more than the superficial display of piety that characterizes our Christian life today. It requires sacrifice without counting the cost. It involves the cross as the lot of all of us. St Paul challenges us:
"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing..." ( cf 1 Corinthians 13:1-3)
The question is: do you give water to the thirsty? Do you feed the hungry? Do you clothe the naked? Do you accommodate the homeless? Do you visit the sick in hospitals or prisoners in correctional facilities? Do you support and promote the cause of justice, equity and fairness? Do you do all these genuinely, without grudges, without expecting anything in return? Is God proud of your current status as a Christian? If your answer is NO, then you need to re-examine yourself.
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (cf John 13:34-35).
Do people feel Christ in your thoughts? Do they hear Christ in your words? Do they see Christ in your action?
Unfortunately, true Christianity dies because we are building more cathedrals and auditoria than we build people. True Christianity dies because we now use people and love things. No, We should use things and love people.
God doesn't require much. He just wants us to do better. He just wants us to be good Christians. If you love God, then feed His lambs. If you love Jesus Christ, then, take care of His sheep. If you love the Holy Spirit, then, work for mercy, show compassion to the least among you; promote and stand for justice. Remember, those brothers and sisters you meet everyday are the physical representation of the face of God you have have been seeking. They're the images of the God you have been wanting to bless with money, cows, sheep, goats and rams. If they need jobs and you're in a position to do so, don't hesitate. God doesn't withdraw and spend money, man does. God doesn't feed on the blood of the animals you take for sacrifices of thanksgiving, man does. God doesn't need a job, man does. So, if you truly want to bless God or thank God with your resources, give them to your fellow human beings. If God blesses you, bless another man or woman. This is Christianity, this is the way, the truth and the life; that is the way to God.
Dominus Vobiscum!

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