“Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.” (Mark 9)
This saying from Jesus seems to make living our Christian faith easy. Could He really be meaning that one shared cup of water makes us eligible for heaven? Not so. We need to read the rest of what Jesus says: “because you belong to Christ.” Do you ever wonder if you really belong to Christ? In the Gospel, Jesus wants us to belong to His way of living. Jesus really means that when we do something wrong, it takes courage to go to Him to say, “I am sorry Lord.” He readily forgives and accepts us, but it doesn’t stop there. We need to also do two other things: 1st: reach out in charity to someone in need (“cup of water”), and 2nd: to examine our lives to see where we need to change (“repentance”). If we can do these two things when we fail in our Christian life, we can return to our belonging to Christ. We give others a “cup of water” when we respond to the many needs that people have friendship, mercy, food, clothing, acceptance. Every day we need to attune ourselves to others, to be able to see how we can be of help. Even a simple smile or greeting of kindness feels like a “cup of water” when someone is lonely. When we give this “cup of water” we belong to the Lord. The 2nd part of belonging to Christ, repentance, is harder. It means we must change our ways. So, I offer you some questions to help you think about where Christ is challenging you and I to change:
- Does love of money cause me to sin?
- Do I associate myself with people who feed my worst vices instead of building up my virtues?
- Do I slander others to make myself feel better about my insecurities?
- Does my pride come before what is best for others or my family?
- Does my reliance on substances cause me to hurt others?
- Am I using my God-given gifts for the flourishing of others or to pursue my own needs? What in my life causes me to sin?
Paying attention to serving others in need and repenting both show that we belong to Christ! ~ Fr. John
