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By Fr. Roy Cimagala *
WHETHER we are aware of it or not, and despite our differences and conflicts, we all share the same humanity, the same status as creatures of God made in his image and likeness. We are one people, forming one body of which each one of us ought to be a living member, doing a specific role for the good of everyone. We have to care, love and help one another!
That is why we need to be living members, as St. Paul once said. “The body is a unit,” he said, “though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.: (1 Cor 12-13)
And the best way to be living and helpful members of the same body is to follow Christ’s indication for each one of us to be “salt and light” to everyone. (cfr. Mt 5,13-16). Christ wants us, like salt, to provide Christian flavor in a world that is fast evolving, as well as help in preserving the true Christian spirit in a world that is so exposed to a lot of changes, many of them with their luggage of dangers even as they also offer a lot of benefits.
We also are meant to give light to the others by giving good examples and by actively doing apostolate, leading people to God along the right if prudent and tortuous and treacherous paths of this world. With rectitude of intention, we have to inspire others to follow us so that with us they can come to Christ.
Let’s make St. Paul’s words ours also: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1 Cor 11,1) These words are a corollary to what Christ said about us being light of the world: “Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” (Mt 5,16)
Let’s try our best so that we too can echo another of St. Paul’s words: “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2,20) This is the ideal to aim at, because Christ himself said, “I am the light of the world…the man who follows me will have the light of life.” (Jn 8,12)
We can only give the true light if we have the light of Christ, if we are with Christ and so identified with him that whoever sees and hears us sees and hears Christ. (cfr. Lk 10,16)
We have to understand that we have a duty to always inspire others. It’s a most important duty that is actually incumbent on everyone of us, and not just on some special people. We know that we are all interrelated, obviously not biologically that only has a limited scope, but definitely to a large extent, politically, economically, socially, etc. The fact that we all live in the same one world somehow makes us all interrelated.
But there’s actually a more radical basis of our interrelation. And that is that we are all creatures of God, children of his, meant to be the people and the family of God. It is a relationship that is spiritual more than material, forged by a supernatural principle and not just something natural. That’s why we have to care for each other, and be responsible for one another.
* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City
Email: roycimagala@gmail.com
