The Christian spirit of sharing
Fr. Edmunds Pastoral Notes
The Christian spirit of sharing
This year’s theme for World Mission Sunday, “Hear I am, send
me” (Is 6:8), captures the spirit of our Christian sharing.
Mission, which means “sent”, is expressive of a maturity in the
faith. Christian life is a life that goes beyond the self, beyond our
comfort zone, beyond our racial or ethnic boundaries, beyond
parish jurisdictions. Faith communities are meant for other
communities. The Church has always sent missionaries, to “go
into the whole world and preach the Good News to all peoples”.
The original missionary is “Jesus Christ, sent by the Father, the
first Missionary, who is the Savior of the world. He is the Way,
the Truth and the Life…” Jesus Christ has become “bread broken
for the life of the world…” He is our Eucharist. As Christians, we
become the Eucharist for others. We become Christ’s presence
to others.
As the Father sent His Son, so does the Son send His followers.
The missionary nature of our faith stems from the diffusive
character of God’s love. The more divine love is shared, the more
it becomes fruitful. It grows and develops as it gives itself away.
The love it shares is the love it keeps and more… People who
have decided to share their resources for the sake of the faith
often realize that their generosity has been more than
compensated. God is never outdone in generosity. He is more
generous with those who are generous.
As we celebrate World Mission Sunday, let us re-assess our
commitment to share not only our faith but also our resources with
others. We do this through our stewardship of God’s gift of life and
its resources. Or is our faith not strong enough to feel the urgency
to share? Is it too weak not to realize the urgency to share it? As
we renew our faith during this year’s celebration of World Mission
Sunday, let us make our own resolve to strengthen our faith by
sharing it more and more in both little and big ways. As this year’s
theme invites us, let us share more of ourselves as well our own
resources with others, especially those who are in need.