DEACON TOM ANTHONY

Sunday, October 28, 2012


         YOUR FAITH HAS SAVED YOU

     
 

 

In our lives there will be times when we all will be tested and confronted with things that will challenge us spiritually, mentally, and physically. It is an expectation. Nobody is exempt from this. This represents a reality which is unavoidable. As Christians, we need to ask ourselves a question: “How are we supposed to approach these obstacles that could easily test our faith in Jesus and lead us away from him?”

We should take our answers from what the Sacred Scriptures tell us and what so many of our brothers and sisters before us did when they faced trials and tribulations. It is so easy to dismiss them and other individuals in times of crisis when the natural thing to do is only focus on ourselves. This is a terrible mistake and could lead to unimaginable consequinces. No one is ever really alone; only when they want to be. Christianity is a community; an extended family that is bound together by Jesus Christ. Living in this reality, there is an expectation of love, support, and consolation in the community. There is also an unconditional love that mustbe given to all who reside in the community.

Too many times, society teaches us that each individual rises and falls based on his or her own merit and faults. God teaches us that this is not true. Yes, we are all responsible for our own actions but once there is an acknowlegement of a sin or of crisis, healing and help comes from God and the community; not from one person. God called the Jewish people back to faith and healing not individually but as a community. It was through the community that healing and reconcilliation was possible. It is the responsibility of the individual to respond but it is through the support of the many that we all receive our strength. This is why Jesus performed miracles: not only for the individual receiving the miracle but so that the community could wintess it and thus have their faith strengthened also. It is a collective act.

Through the movement of the community all going forward with a common goal everything is achieved. No one stands alone. Standing alone and feeling alone weakens the Living Body of Christ here on this earth. When we act individually,we cannot forget the collectivity of our nature. Individual actions affect the whole as actions of the whole affect the individual. That is why we must keep Christ central in all of our thoughts and actions. We must remain selfless in our nature.

As long as we are selfless, we can then encounter Christ selfishly and develop our own relationship which will then strengthen the faith of others.

 

Deacon Tom

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