The Christian detachment

TO be consistent to our Christian identity and vocation, we need to live a certain type of detachment that involves a certain self-emptying that would fill us completely with the spirit of Christ. That’s because in the end what truly matters in our life is that we be so identified with Christ that we can rightly be called “another Christ.” 

 Christ said this clearly. “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” (Lk 14,25) 

 Yes, it’s a detachment that goes all the way to even be willing to lose our life. Such detachment can only show how much we believe, love and follow Christ. Indeed, it’s a tremendous, hard, if not impossible requirement to fulfill, but, for sure, if Christ could do it himself, we too could also do it as long as we believe, love and follow him fully. 

 Obviously, to abide by that standard we need to go through a long, if not life-long process of developing that spirit of detachment. It’s not going to be easy, but let’s be convinced beyond doubt that this is what is needed by us and that Christ will always be there to help us. 

 And we should never be afraid or hesitant to live such detachment, because as Christ himself assured us in another occasion, we should be seeking first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all the other concerns and necessities we have will be taken care of. (cfr. Mt 6,33) 

 As we can see, what is needed here first is a strong and working faith, which is actually a gift God gives us but to which we have to correspond as fully as possible. With that faith, we know that what is impossible with us is always possible with God. 

 Such faith would enable us to echo Christ’s words: “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, but not as I will, but as you will.” (Mt 26,39) And while hanging on the cross, he at first complained, “My God, my God, what have you forsaken me.” (Mt 27,46) But later on, he rectified by saying, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Lk23,46) 

 To be sure, such detachment does not in any way mean a lack of love for our anyone or anything in this life. Let’s remember that everyone and everything comes from God and therefore should be loved the way God loves them. Christ even went to the extent of telling us to love our enemies. 

 But it is a love that does not preclude a certain detachment from people and things and even from our own life. It’s a love that starts and ends with God, and when people, things and even our life would stand in the way of our love for God, then we should be willing to detach ourselves from them so we can get to the real love. 

 To have this kind of understanding about detachment and to conform our life to it would certainly need a lot of sacrifice, discipline and God’s grace. But as long as we have a strong faith, we can hack it. 

 We just have to see to it that everyday there should be some act of detachment, so we can approach this ideal effectively. Thus, Christ told us to deny ourselves, carry the cross to follow him. (cfr. Mt 16,24)

Adapting all the way

WE are somehow reminded of this need of ours to adapt all the way to all kinds of persons and situations in life in that gospel episode where Christ was asked why the disciples of John the Baptist fast, while his do not. (cfr. Lk 5,33-39) That’s also where Christ said that famous line about not putting a piece of new cloth to patch an old one, and new wine into old wineskins. 

 Like Christ, we should try our best to adapt ourselves to all kinds of persons and situations to such an extent that we can echo what St. Paul once said about become all things to all men for the sake of the salvation of man. (cfr. 1 Cor 9,22) This, we should try our best to do without losing our Christian identity. 

 As we all know, Christ is the Son of God who became man to recover us from our state of alienation from God due to sin. He went all the way to become like sin, without committing sin, if only to identify himself with us even in our worst condition. (cfr. 2 Cor 5,21) In so doing, he shows us the way of how we can recover our Christian dignity as God’s image and likeness, children of his, sharers of his divine life. 

 If we are consistent with our Christian identity, we should do the same. The challenge of adapting ourselves to all kinds of persons and situations is enormous. It is, in fact, overwhelming. But there’s always the grace of God to help us when we reach our human limits in this regard. 

 Fact is to make Christ present in the lives of all of us is next to impossible. And yet that is what we are asked to do. How would you, for example, transmit the doctrine of our faith, or show the beauty of the liturgy, etc., so full of mysteries, to different kinds of people, from kids to adults, from manual workers to intellectuals, etc.? 

 I always find this challenge unnerving. And yet that is what is always presented to us. What immediately comes to mind in trying to tackle this challenge is for us to truly exert the effort to know and accept people in the way they are, but always referring them to Christ with whom we should keep a living relationship. 

 Let’s remember that Christ was always adapting himself to the people, being flexible to everyone, and yet managed to accomplish his mission, whatever the situation was. He was not only passively adapting himself to the environment. He was also actively pursuing his goal in different ways. That’s versatility for you. 

 Eventually, he rounded off all these expressions of adaptability, flexibility and versatility by offering his life on the cross. There he made as his own all the sins of men, died to them and rose from the dead. He turned the cross from being a tree of sin and death into a tree of life. His death conquered sin and death, and reopened the door to eternal life for us. 

 To become Christ-like would indeed require a lifetime effort, but we can always start and develop it anytime. Let us not wait for some so-called opportune moment to be so. Any time, any situation can and should be an occasion to be like Christ. Obviously, we have to know Christ more and more. Thus, we need to be familiar with his life, his teachings and his example. 

 Let us put our mind and heart into this most important responsibility of ours.

What faith and obedience can enable us

THAT gospel episode where Christ asked Peter to put out into deep water and lower his nets for a catch shows us that when we would simply have faith in God, we can do wonders in our spiritual life and apostolate despite the great odds that we may have to contend with. (cfr. Lk 5,1-11) 

 At first, Peter was doubtful if what Christ told him was worth following. “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing,” he said. but to his credit, he immediately corrected himself. “But at your command I will lower the nets.” 

 The story is very moving indeed, and the good news is that it can happen to any of us as long as we have faith and trust in God. And because of that faith and trust, we can just obey God’s will and ways even if humanly speaking they may appear to us as an impossibility. 

 We need to learn to trust God, and in his word and in his ways, no matter how they seem unreasonable, impractical or impossible. For this, we have to go beyond our own understanding and estimation of things, and open our mind and heart to the light of our faith and love for God and for others. 

 While it’s true that we have to use all our human faculties in dealing with our earthly affairs and concerns, that is, our intelligence and will, our sciences and arts, our common sense and cultural and social wisdom, we should not forget that all these would have no real value unless they are engaged with our faith in God. 

 God knows everything. He is omnipotent. He actually intervenes in our lives in the most intimate way since he is the one who ultimately supports our existence and who governs it wisely with his providence. 

 We have to realize that God continues to work and to govern over all his creation, and as his image and likeness, as his children, we are meant to cooperate in carrying God’s work and governance here on earth. Seen in this way, any work we do, as long as it is honest and good work, is actually first of all God’s work before it is ours. We should be excited to carry out that work with him! 

 We should just develop the sense of feeling at home with the fact that our life and all the challenges and trials we are going to face in it will always demand from us things beyond our powers and resources. And that’s simply because we are meant to go to God for all our needs, without neglecting any effort we can give along the way. 

 With God, we have everything. As St. Teresa de Avila would put it, “Solo Dios basta!” What we lack in our humanity, we can always make up by relying always and completely on God. 

 But, alas, this can happen only when we have faith, for faith is our best resource. As St. John puts it in his first letter, “This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith.” (Jn 5,4) Without faith, we are left with a big problem right from the start. 

 Thus, before all this exciting drama and adventure of life, our attitude should be that of being sporty and game, based on our faith in God and trust in his all-powerful and merciful providence. This attitude is actually what is presumed every time we enter into some form of commitment, whether to a vocation or marriage or work, etc.