Tuesday of 4th Week of Easter
April 19, 2016 8:30am
Readings: Acts
11.19-26
John
10.22-30
In today’s first reading, we hear
about the growth of the early Church.
The last sentence of the passage
is kind of poignant.
It says: “It was in Antioch that the disciples were called Christians for the
first time.”
At first, the followers of Jesus just
seemed like a branch of Judaism.
Only gradually did it become
clear that they were following a very different way, the way and person of
Jesus.
So only eventually were they
called Christians and not Jews.
This leads me to think about a question.
But still, is there something
special or distinctive about our lives that makes it clear in our culture today
that we are different as Christians or Catholic Christians?
What should mark us as such even
if people would not otherwise know what religion we are or whether we have any
religion at all.
My ideas go in this direction:
In our relationships, that we try
to be forgiving rather than vengeful;
In our participation in society, that
we try to be concerned for the common good of all and not just what benefits me
or keeps more money in my pocket;
With others who have a different
religious background, that we respect it and respect them and in no way look
down on them;
And in general, that we don’t
just pray prayers, but that we are prayerful people, trying to allow the Lord
within to transform us as persons.
These are some, probably not all,
but some of the things I see as marking us as Christians – how we should be known
as followers of Jesus today.
Other traits and practices may
follow from these, but without these, well, I am not sure how we would be known
or regarded.
