The Sacrament of Confirmation (also known as Chrismation in the Eastern Churches) confirms the baptized person in his/her faith, and it helps us grow intimate with God. Having been emboldened for selfless service to the Body of Christ, the Christian who has been confirmed is obligated to share the gospel. In doing so, we are fulfilling the great commission we have received from the Lord spelled out in Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…” In other words, evangelism is key to the practice of one’s faith and not just the prerogative of a few preachers. Every confirmed Christian has been conferred the privilege of making Christ known to a world that is unacquainted with the way of Salvation.
The Christian endeavor of sharing the gospel
When we strive to spread the Gospel of Christ, we must clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience as instructed by St Paul in Colossians 3:12-14. Taking our Wounded Healer to a wounded world requires us to exemplify Him in every possible way.
Embodying His Divine Nature
Imitating Christ is as difficult as it geṭs, nevertheless, His grace is there to make it possible. In Isaiah 42:1-4, God the Father gives a grand description of the person of Jesus “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.”
The verse clearly emphasizes that while representing Jesus, we should be comforting to a bruised and battered world rather than being judgmental. Further, in the verse, we also see Prophet Isaiah highlighting the calm and tranquil bearing of Christ – He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.
Woefully, in today’s evangelism, this remarkable quality is missing. Christian preaching has been reduced to raucous shouts of Alleluias. Christians are seen strutting around with Bibles and doling out Biblical verses to people simply to be hypercritical of them while asserting one’s righteousness before God. This behavior for sure doesn’t support the mission of proclaiming Christ to the world. Contrarily, it amounts to a reckless squandering of God’s graces. Therefore if we have to be carriers of the Gospel, our demeanor should be quiet and sedate besides being loving towards one another.
Love above all
As members of the body of Christ, Christians are bestowed with wide-ranging gifts and charisms of the Holy Spirit. First Corinthians 12: 8-11 details these gifts “To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”
Each of these gifts given is beautiful in its own way and it is for us to use them wisely for the service of God alone. However, when we possess these gifts and have no love in us, it neither benefits us or the people around us. God is love and so we should have love in our hearts in order to be his faithful representatives. Love perfects everything and so it should be the one gift we should constantly seek. Let 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 serve as a guide for our daily fruitful living for it encapsulates the quintessence of a true Christian life which is indispensable for our salvation. “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.”
Let’s be imitators of Saints and not the resounding gong or the clanging cymbal
Undoubtedly, Saints were the best-ever known preachers of Christ’s teachings as they preached through their Godly living. They actively lived the Word. An examination of their lives would reveal that although they were enriched with divine favors, graces, heavenly visitations, and dreams and abundant miracles occurred wherever they were present, today what remains etched in the hearts of many were their acts of charity. For instance, there’s hardly a soul in whom Mother Teresa’s service to the poorest of the poor hasn’t left a profound impact. Take the case of this wonderful St. Maximilian Kolbe, people remember him as one who volunteered to give up his life in place of another man in the German death camp during World War II. And so the list of works of love goes on. Through their acts of love, Saints have demonstrated the love of God to the needy and the afflicted. Hence let’s strive for love in our hearts above all.
