We display our faith to others in many ways. By demonstrating hospitality and kindness, we reveal the merciful face of Jesus Christ. Through prayer and sacraments, we grow closer to God and share in His abundant graces. Formation allows us to learn and teach. Service spreads care and love. These Four Pillars of Stewardship provide a foundation for our ongoing commitment to the redemptive and salvific work of Our Lord and Savior.
The path of Jesus Christ is our perfect paradigm to guide us through our journey as stewards of the faith. We can reflect the light of God to shine throughout the earth simply by mirroring his example. Specifically, Jesus forms his ministry of loving service and instructs his disciples that their love for one another is indicative of this ministry (John 13:34-35). In the Gospel, Saint John discloses how God’s love permeates Christian life:
“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is brought to perfection in us” (1 John 4:7-12).
This passage is particularly enlightening, because it explains the dynamic correlation between our loving relationship with God and our imperative to love one another. Pope Benedict XVI describes “a double dimension: the vertical (communion with God) and the horizontal (communion among men)” with respect to the concept of communion as a key to ecclesiology (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 1992).
Applying that same “double dimension” to our call to love, our vertical axis is formed when God sends His loving mercy and divine grace down to us. We reciprocate by offering up all that we have including our love for Him. Horizontally, we engage in benevolent communion with others as we freely exchange love, perform good deeds, grant forgiveness, and live in harmony with the world. Being a Christian and living as God intends involves strengthening our relationships along both axes through our charitable actions.
To form a stable cross–our symbol of Christianity–the stipe and patibulum must both remain strong and balanced. On the crucifix, Jesus hangs at the intersection of the two beams. In such a way, he connects humanity to divinity. As the Word Incarnate, Jesus brings God to us; through his Passion, death, and resurrection, Jesus brings us to God. On that dark night of faith hanging on the cross, Jesus exhibits his unwavering love for God and man and sets the ultimate example of how to love.
Flowing directly from that love is a devotion to service: “the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45, Matthew 20:28). His ultimate service in the face of death, which exemplifies his complete and selfless love, is to sacrifice his own life for our salvation. Here, service also crosses vertically to God and horizontally to each other.
The many charisms that are prominent in the teaching of Jesus proceed out of this underlying foundation of love and service. Together, they comprise the essential elements that define the nature of the Church and outwardly mark us as disciples of Christ. The prolific Christian author Tertullian cites the observation by the pagans regarding the first Christians: “See how they love one another.”
In our second reading today, Saints Paul, Timothy, and Silas remind the early Church of the importance of serving as role models so that others can recognize and imitate the behavior (2 Thessalonians 3:7-12). Displaying our faith goes beyond wearing a cross and offering to pray for people. It requires putting our beliefs into practice by loving and serving others as our way of life. Pope Francis explains: “We cannot be Christians part-time. If Christ is at the center of our lives, He is present in all that we do.”
This week, consider how you represent your faith to the world. Would an outsider recognize you as a Christian through your words and actions? Do you love and serve promptly, easily, and joyfully? Saint Augustine says, “The Christian should be an alleluia from head to foot.” What steps can you take to make that your stable disposition?
