Christians live in the world but not of the world. That’s a very important distinction. How many times have you heard that? A million, a billion, a trillion, a quintilion. What does it mean? And why is it all the more relevant today? In the Bible, the world is ambiguous. On the one hand, God made the world. So, the world as part of creation is good. Everything that God made is good. Even Satan in so far as he exists is good. So, creation is good.
We read in uh maybe the most famous Bible verse of all, John 3:16, for God so loved the world that he gave us his only begotten son. So the world is good and it’s also the objects of the object of God’s love. On the other hand, the world is also the collective locust of evil. It’s an evil system. This is why we call it a fallen world. And when uh Satan takes Jesus to the top of the parapet of the temple during his temptation time and he offers him all the kingdoms of the world as long as he bows down and worships him, he’s telling a half-truth. All good liars tells, not blatant lies or we wouldn’t fall for them. The true part is that Satan does have the world. They are his kingdoms. It’s the kingdom of darkness. We call him the prince of this world.
The false part is that there’s a gap of infinity between Satan and Jesus. Jesus is the word through whom all things including Satan were made. So he’s never going to worship him because Satan as part of creation is not worthy of worship. Nothing in part of as part of creation is worthy of worship. Not even the blessed virgin. Only God is worthy of worship.
Bring Christ Into the World
So we’re called to bring Christ into this dark matrix of illusion and deception, this fallen world. through culture, media, education, storytelling, dance, art, architecture, the way we relate to each other at the workplace, the work that we do, and the way that we do it. We’re supposed to be doing that while at the same time being careful not to be corrupted by the very system we’re present in. Jesus mentions all this in John chapter 17. John 17 is the longest sermon Jesus gives in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It’s worth a look. John 17. The direct quote is Jesus says of us they are not of the world even as I am not of it. I do not ask you to take them out of the world but to protect them from the evil one.
That right there is the balance. Our Lord is talking about presence in without compromise with. So engaging the culture means taking to the streets even if the streets means the next room where you’re changing a diaper or a classroom where you’re teaching or tax preparation or the next thing you want to paint.
Whatever it is, do the little thing with great love. That’s the great message of St. Terzier. It’s also the message of servant of God Catherine Doherty, the founder of Madonna House, who talked about the duty of the moment. The next right thing is the thing you must do right now. And no matter how big or small it is, public or private, do it with great love. In fact, it’s more meritorious if you do it in private than if you do it in public. Jesus says, “Go into your room, close the door, and pray to your father in secret, and your father who sees you in secret will reward you.” He doesn’t say that about public prayers. only private intimate conversation with our Lord who loves us.
Above all, this means not hiding your Christian faith, not making it appear that you’re hiding your faith under a bushel basket. It means standing up and being counted, not being silent when it’s time to speak up. So, why does this matter?
Well, it matters because we need to know why the church exists. You could say a hammer exists to pound nails or remove them. Hearing aids exist to improve human hearing. A paintbrush exists to paint. Why does the church exist? What’s it for? Pope Paul V 6 tells us in his 1975 apostolic exhortation evangelian. He says the church exists to evangelize. It’s not a fortress. It’s not the truth club. It’s supposed to be the the repository of truth that is to be shared by others. That’s why the church exists to evangelize. If the church withdraws completely, then the world goes dark and it’s lights out.
We can’t compromise. We have to speak the truth with love. And then that’s the key. That’s another key balance. Love without truth is sentimentality. Truth without love is harsh, maybe even sadistic. So we need both. We need to embody what our savior embodied, which is the perfection of love and truth. If we compromise, then we become worldly.
Then we’re like salt that loses its flavor. Basically useless. No better than No, no more able to worship than an unbeliever. And we’re supposed to be the salt of the earth, the light of the world. Why? Because Jesus is the primordial. He’s the infinite saltiness, the the the power, the influence. Salt influences like leaven. It influences the entire food that you put it in. Likewise, Jesus is the light of the world and he shares his light with us.
So, we’re we’re his instruments. We’re his salt. were his light. And the goal is not to point to ourselves, but to point to our savior. And this is the kind of hope that we talk about all the time and we encourage each other to to gain and to keep inside the True North movement.
Check out the True North Movement. Three levels of engagement, Catholics and others in 20 different countries. Enjoy three levels of engagement, community support, challenge, great movies, great books, live deep dives, the coffin report, much else besides. Check out the truth north movement. We would love to have you and be a saint. What else is that?
