If someone asked us what we believe, familiar phrases might come thronging to mind. God the Father almighty…Jesus Christ, His only-begotten Son…the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life…the communion of saints…the resurrection of the dead – these are elements of our creed.
And yet I was struck, once, by the two ways I could answer if someone asked me, “is the electricity working?” I could say “yes”…or I could turn on a light. “You are the light of the world,” Jesus tells His disciples (Matt 5:14), and when He sends them out to announce the kingdom of heaven He sends them not only to preach but to be that kingdom among men.
He sends them two by two – because the Kingdom is a Communion of saints. He sends them with nothing – because the Father provides for His children. And eventually, their martyrdom would proclaim far more loudly than their words the Resurrection which awaits His faithful.
As Pope Francis says, “Jesus wants evangelizers who proclaim the good news not only with words, but above all by a life transfigured by God’s presence” (Evangelii Gaudium, 259; our underline). And as Friar Volantino once heard someone say: “show me your life, and I’ll tell you who Jesus is to you.”
What kind of kingdom does your life announce?
Sr. EMJ
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