Giving and
receiving Christ
By
Fr. ROY CIMAGALA,
roycimagala@gmail.com
September 16, 2020
REMEMBER Christ telling
his disciples, “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives
me receives the one who sent me.” (Mt 10,40) These words clearly
show that we are meant to be so identified with Christ that anyone
who receives us receives Christ.
In another gospel, Christ
said something similar also. “He who hears you hears me. He who
rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent
me.” (Lk 10,16) These words tell us that there has to be some kind
of organic continuity between Christ and us.
Tremendous words, indeed,
pointing to a tremendous reality about ourselves! And these words
are meant not only for the original apostles or for a few people.
They are meant for all of us, since we are supposed to be patterned
after Christ, the Son of God who is the perfect image God has of his
own self.
Since we have been created
in God’s image and likeness, we can say that we are patterned after
Christ. We are supposed to be like Christ, or as some theologians
have described it, we are supposed to be “alter Christus,” (another
Christ).
We can never overemphasize
our need to be so identified with Christ that we really have to do
everything to acquire the very mind and spirit of Christ which are
where our identification with Christ takes place. In fact, we are
meant to have the very sentiments of Christ as we face all the
possible situations of our life.
The identification with
Christ should be such that whatever we think, say and do, it is
always Christ that we perceive, understand, follow and live. It is
his goodness, wisdom, mercy, charity, compassion, etc. that should
guide the way we understand and react to things. The way he reacted
to things should also be the way we react to them.
No matter how mundane and
technical the things are that we get involved in, it should always
be Christ that we give or receive. Not in the sense of the physical
Christ, of course, but rather in his mind and spirit. This way, we
live out what Christ told his first disciples: “He who receives you
receives me…”
This, of course, will
require a lot of discipline on our part, since we always and
strongly tend to be guided only by our human estimation of things.
We get contented with just staying in that level. And often as a
consequence, we find ourselves unable to handle our differences and
conflicts, and the many difficulties and mysteries in our life. We
find it difficult, if not impossible, to love everyone as we should.
Little by little, but in a
lifelong and continuous way, we have to know more about Christ, as
he presents himself in the gospels, in the teachings of the Church,
in the sacraments, and in the many other acts of piety. We should
pursue this path until we can say with St. Paul that we already have
the mind of Christ. (cfr. 1 Cor 2,16) We have to remember that we
can never know him enough, no matter how much we study him.
Anyway, we should not
worry too much since Christ himself will take care of everything in
the end. He will be the one to finish and perfect everything. Ours
is simply to try to be with him. We may still commit some mistakes
along the way. But if committed in good faith, it will be Christ who
will correct them.
We have to overcome the
usual awkwardness we feel when we take this truth of our faith
seriously and start to act on it. If we simply persist with faith
and humility, time will surely come when this identification with
Christ becomes second nature to us.
And whatever we think, say
and do, whatever we give or receive, it is always Christ who is
presented and perceived, followed and lived!