“Being a ‘committed and convinced’ Christian!”
(Based on Gen 16:1-12, 15-16 and Mt 7:21-29 – Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1)
A chameleon is a tree-dwelling lizard with long thin legs, a strong curled tail and a long sticky tongue.
One of the special characteristic of the chameleon is the ability to change its colour.
The chameleon takes the colour of its background and environment – tree, bush, or grass etc.
Chameleons have two superimposed layers within their skin that control their colour and thermoregulation.
The top layer contains a lattice of guanine nano-crystals.
In a relaxed state, the crystals reflect blue and green…
… but in an excited state the longer wavelengths such as yellow, orange, and red are reflected.
Is this not a similar case with many Christian lives as well?
Many Christians are like the chameleon – they can take on the colour of the world about them.
Just as it is difficult to distinguish the chameleon from the background…
… so it is very difficult to distinguish many Christians from the background of the world in which they live!
And the reason for this seems to be similar as well, just as the chameleons.
Perhaps such Christians have two superimposed-layers…
The top layer with the tag of “Christian” – but containing a lattice of “personal agenda” and “sinful inclinations”
When the external surroundings get conducive and favourable, this “lattice” of sin and duplicity expands – the colour changes – from “holiness” to “worldliness!”
The Gospel of the Day is a bold reminder and warning to us Christians from possessing such kind of a “colour-changing attitude”…
… professing one thing and living something else to suit the surroundings!
Jesus declares, “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’, shall enter the Kingdom of heaven, but he who does the Will of my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 7: 21)
This Gospel passage is the conclusion of the spectacular Sermon on the Mount which began from Chapter 5 of the Gospel of St Matthew.
This great discourse and the brilliant exposition of the Christian teaching is concluded with two fundamental exhortations by Christ:
- Be a doer of the Word, not just a listener
- Have a strong foundation built on Him, rather than on the world!
Christianity, for some, becomes a soothing philosophy and a relaxing religion.
The mercy of the Lord… the love of the Father… the providence of God
… they become easy escape routes to avoid duties and responsibilities
The pious practices…the devout rituals… the spiritual exercises
… they sometimes get reduced to mere ‘relaxing’ techniques or ‘lifeless’ customs
It gets easy to merely say ‘Lord, Lord’ – but to live a life in witness to the Lord becomes a pain in the neck
It feels good to say, “Jesus, Jesus” – but to orient our actions and deeds, worthy of our vocation becomes a hard reality.
But this is the challenge that the Lord invites us to rise up to…
Being a person who seriously lives ones profession of faith and makes life a truly witnessing one!
Being a person who consciously makes efforts to be holy and saintly in order to give glory to the salvific act of the Lord, who shed His blood for us!
Towards this end, Jesus says that we need to have our faith and life built on the strong foundation of the Lord Himself!
To all who place their entire hope on worldly treasures or self-capabilities – like the house build on sand – are sure to collapse!
To all who build their entire trust on Jesus and His grace and goodness – like the house built on rock – are sure to remain firm!
Being a Christian is an exciting adventure.
There is lot of contentment… loads of peace… bundles of joy!
But there is also the danger of being snared by the pleasures or riches or temptations in the world…
… which constantly entices us to move away from the Lord and identify ourselves with the world.
St Peter says, “Your enemy, the Devil, is prowling round, like a roaring lion, looking for someone to eat. Stand up to him, strong in faith…” (1 Pt 5: 8-9)
Jesus says, “They do not belong to the world anymore… ” (Jn 17: 16)
Let us examine our Christian lives and check…
Am I a “committed and convinced” Christian?
… am I a “chameleon” Christian?
God Bless! Live Jesus!
📖 Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
MAN’S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT – GOD’S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE – The Fifth Commandment
God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end…
… no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being.” (CCC # 2258)
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