Brothers and Sisters in Christ 4/30/06
by Fr.Gus Carter

The great hymn-like opening of the Letter to the Ephesians states, "God the Father blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens ... In love He destined us for adoption through Jesus Christ." Our faith tells us that all human beings are made in the image of God and in the image of Christ. A modem theologian wrote, "We discover in Jesus glorified, in his material reality, the future destiny of human beings." Each person is actually brother or sister to Jesus and in some way participates in His reality. The glorified Jesus, in turn, is present in each person acting in him or her to stir up goodness, humanity, brotherhood, communion and love.

Each human being reminds us of the human being who is Jesus. Jesus hides himself behind each human face. We know from Jesus' command to love one another that when we do good to another, we are serving Jesus Christ Himself Each of us is destined, as Jesus was, to eternal union with the Father. This is the basis for the dignity that can never be taken away from humans. We are ultimately sacred as persons destined for God. St. John's First Epistle tells us. "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We know that when it is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."

The resurrected Jesus is present and active in a special way in those who in so many ways carry forward His cause. This is independent from their ideological position or adherence to some particular belief Whenever people seek the good, justice, humanitarian love, solidarity, communion and understanding between people, the Risen Christ is among them. Wherever individuals dedicate themselves to overcoming their own ego, making this world more human and fraternal and opening themselves to God in their lives, there the Resurrected One is present. Those persons are carrying forward the cause for which Christ lived and suffered. Jesus said, "Whoever is not against us is with us" (Mark 9:40). Jesus knocked down sectarian barriers that divide people and only see those who adhere to their own creed as brothers and sisters. All who contribute to Jesus cause are brothers and sisters. The Risen Jesus is acting in them so that there might be greater openness toward others and more human space for God. Those who take up the cause for love are taking up the cause of Christ. In the fullness of Jesus human and divine reality, he overcomes all possible barriers to his action. Jesus touches all, especially those who by their lives struggle for what Jesus Himself struggled and died for, even though they do not make explicit references to Him.

The Resurrected Christ is present in a more profound way in those who have chosen to follow him in faith and love. These people adhere to Jesus divine reality and his meaning in our existence before God. We imitate Christ by trying to act in our situation in the same way Christ acted in his. We have often heard, "What would Jesus doT' How much is that part of our daily living? Christians are called to have the same attitude and the same spirit as Jesus.

It is not rare to find religious people thinking that it is their duty to find fault with others. They must keep them on the straight and narrow path of life. They do not seem to be aware that their conduct is often discouraging. In the past parents were afraid that praising their children would make them prideful. On the other hand the "self-esteem movement" went way overboard in the other direction, praising meaningless things, thus making praise practically meaningless. False
compliments foster bad behavior. Genuine compliments encourage good behavior. To overcome being judgmental, we must learn to be alert to virtuous actions around us. Our awareness of good in others makes it easier for us to be kind. We create an atmosphere of graciousness. We forge bonds with people by being aware of their goodness. Seeing real good helps us to be loving. We develop an ecumenical sense by noticing good qualities and behavior wherever we find them. The best way to overcome judgmentalism is to grow in awareness of the good deeds of others wherever they occur. In this way we develop a kinder attitude toward life. We become more pleasant persons as we grow to sense good around us. We become more aware of the Kingdom of God and we foster that Kingdom through greater sensitivity to the good we find in others.