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Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo Wednesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Philippians 2:12–18
Saint Paul tells the Philippians to shine like lights in the world.
Jesus had said the same thing in another way:
“You are the light of the world.”
But what kind of light?
A light that helps people see.
A light that exposes darkness.
A light that shows another way to live.
The first Christians lived in a world that often misunderstood them and sometimes hated them.
A second-century Christian text, the Letter to Diognetus, says:
“Christians love all men, but all men persecute them.”
Tertullian, another ancient Christian writer, said that whenever disaster struck, Christians were blamed.
If the river flooded, Christians were blamed.
If the harvest failed, Christians were blamed.
If plague came, Christians were blamed.
The cry was:
“The Christians to the lions!”
How did they respond?
The Letter to Diognetus says:
A blessing was their answer to abuse.
Respect was their answer to insult.
They did good, and when they were punished for it, they still rejoiced.
That was their light.
They obeyed Jesus:
“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
But Christian light was not only kindness.
It was also truth.
The first Christians refused idols.
They refused the immoral habits of the world around them.
They refused to pretend that every way of life was good.
And some of them picked up the pen.
They explained the faith.
They defended the truth.
They showed why Christians were not enemies of the human race, but witnesses to a new life in Christ.
Today, our world is different, but not entirely different.
In some places, Christians are still persecuted openly.
In other places, faith is tolerated as long as it stays private, silent, and harmless.
Christian teaching is often dismissed as outdated, intolerant, or dangerous.
Sometimes Christians are blamed for standing in the way of progress.
So what should our answer be?
The same as before:
love, blessing, and a pen.
Love, because hatred cannot reveal Christ.
Blessing, because insult must not make us bitter.
And a pen, because truth must be explained clearly, patiently, and courageously.
Saint Paul tells the Philippians to hold fast to the word of life.
That word is Christ.
He is the true light.
He entered our darkness.
He was rejected, accused, and killed.
But He answered with love.
From the Cross, He forgave.
By His resurrection, He opened a new way to live.
So Christians shine when they live from Him.
When they refuse revenge.
When they speak truth without hatred.
When they love without surrendering the Gospel.
When they are present in the world but do not belong to its darkness.
This is also our task.
In our families.
In our workplaces.
In our schools.
Online.
In public life.
We are not called to hide.
We are not called to blend in.
We are called to shine.
Not with our own light, but with the light of Christ.
Biblical Reflections on the Gospel of Mark
Year of Mark - Get it from Amazon
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New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition,
copyright © 1989, 1993
the Division of Christian Education of the National Council
of the Churches of
Christ in the United States of America.
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