After You

To be a Christian is to commit ourselves to our Christianity in the manner that a lawyer commits to the legal profession. As a court registry officer, I have seen lawyers who were expelled from the Bar for committing unethical practices.  It is a difficult process as witnesses expose the wrongdoing of an officer of the court. When disbarred, the counsel loses his standing in court: no longer allowed to practice the profession, no longer allowed to represent clients, but far worse, losing one’s respect among peers and in the community.

If a lawyer is an officer of the court, a Christian is a disciple of Christ.  To be a disciple is to follow the example of Jesus. “He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” (Luke 9: 23-24)

During the two-day Year of Faith pilgrimage to the Vatican on June 21, Pope Francis told 108 papal representatives to the nations and international organisations, along with 40 retired nuncios, not to give in to spiritual worldliness. "There is always the danger, including for churchmen, to give into what -- borrowing an expression from (the late Jesuit Cardinal Henri) De Lubac -- I call 'spiritual worldliness': giving into the spirit of the world which leads to acting for one's self-realization and not for the glory of God," he said.

There are Christians, whether full-time servants in the Church or lay persons, who succumbed to using their position or situation towards attaining prominence, fame and popularity. The Pope said to the nuncios "Beware of those who are ambitious, who seek the episcopacy."

"Shepherds need to be in front of their flocks to indicate the path, in the midst of the flock to keep them united, behind the flock to make sure none is left behind," the pope said. While he may have been addressing the church officials, the Pontiff’s call has relevance to each and every Christian: to be in front in the causes of God and to be the last man in the lookout for lost brethren.