"The world is filled like a field with the fragrance of the name of Christ; and his is the blessing of the dew of heaven, that is, of the showers of divine words, of the richness of the soil, that is of the gathering of the peoples. His is the abundance of corn and wine, that is, the multitude which the corn and wine gather together in the sacrament of his body and blood. It is Christ whom the nations serve, and to whom the princes do reverence...He who has cursed him is accursed; he who has blessed him is blessed. Our Christ, I repeat, is blessed" (St. Augustine. The City of God)
Whether someone believes in Christ or not, Christ's dominion and glory cannot be diminished. It can only increase, since he is Lord of all things and the Savior of the world. What the world mocks and curses as superstition and backwards religiosity, Christ accepts as worship and service to him in his eternal kingdom. It is sad today that many Christians, lacking confidence in their faith, have attempted to bridge the gap between Christ and the world by resorting to worldly ideas and worldly ways of living. There can be no compromise between the two worlds, though. If Christ is the Prince of Peace and his dominion the Kingdom of Heaven, then the world belongs to the Prince of Darkness, and its kingdom is the kingdom of Hell. The only way to bridge the gap between light and darkness is to shine more light into the darkness--not to clothe ourselves in darkness.
Why do we turn back into the ways of darkness? Why do we try to make Christ more palatable to society? A doctor or pharmacist would never change a prescription or treatment to give a patient worse results or less healing. A confectioner would never think of making his candy taste horrible, just to appease those who do not like candy. A great chef would never change his recipes to match the low quality food of a cafeteria. Why should Christ be expected to change his message? All possible richness, goodness and truth are in Christ. Nothing can replace him and nothing can replace his sacred words. No activity, no hobby, no work can replace worshipping him in spirit and truth every Lord's day and serving him daily.
Christ is the good wine, that was saved for last (John 2:1-12). In this sense, we are blessed to live in the best age, because we live in the last times, when Christ has been made known to the world. Though we live in the midst of such abundance, we all suffer from famine--we are starving to death, because we do not lay down our lives and follow him. Those who truly seek Christ will not exchange the good wine for dirty water. It is time for Christians everywhere to be honest, to return to their discipleship in Christ, to return to his words and away from the meaningless words of men, to return to the love of God, which is our peace and security. Regardless of whether we answer this call or continue to ignore him, Christ will reign, for Christ has already overcome the world. And whether or not we remain faithful and love him, he will be faithful and he will be glorified. Our Christ is truly blessed.
0 comments:
Post a Comment