At noon time, I invited the grade one’s and two’s for a picnic. Everything was simple. The children were well behaved and orderly. When the hot dogs and ice cream were finished, the children ran to play on the green grass.
For the majority of these children this is one of the very limited encounters they will have with church. But this encounter in a picnic highlights that the church must have a very human face. It is so much more than going through the prayer rituals and then walk out of the church building.
The Church is first of all lived and expressed in the lives and faces of the people. The rituals and the arrangement of the church building are an expression of the fundamental reality, Christ present and living in the people.
In relations between human beings, we know that if one person does not like another person, they will not accept the other’s truth. It may the most obvious truth, but we withhold acceptance of the truth from the people we do not like.
A stranger may approach us respectfully and hand us a small package we had dropped a few meters back. We are not offended but we graciously accept the kindness. We accept his truth.
The face of the Church is found in its people. It is the people who make up the Church. It is the people who witness to the reality of Christ in their lives,
We want to welcome all people who will come to join us for Sunday worship. In some of the more advanced parishes they begin by turning around and welcoming the people who are located close by. People mention that it does make a difference when you pray for others and they are the new stranger with the wonderful smile is who is standing beside you.
We want to listen to the stories of people who are having a hard time getting by in our own city and country. We want to listen to the stories of the people who are on the margins of the society. We never want to be the ‘we have well-paying jobs and we are among the winners’ club. The spirit of Jesus (i.e. his attitude) is one of compassion and understanding for the poor and excluded of his time. We want to allow his spirit to blossom in our lives as we include the excluded in our listening. The Sunday Readings are not only a time to listen to the Word of God but also a time to listen to the word of our fellow human being who is struggling.
When you were joined to Jesus Christ in the waters of baptism you were signed on the ears with the sign that you are to become a listener to the Word of God. And, included in that sign, you will listen to the heart of the poor just as Jesus listens to the heart of the poor.
We can become the very face of Jesus in so many ways. Most of all in the e everyday events of respect and kindness towards others.
Today, give a moment of reflection to the times when you recognized in another the very face of Jesus. And when did they recognize the face of Jesus in your face?
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