Community June 28
(The Crosier) contributes to the common good by participating in common work (Profile of the Congolese Crosier).
There is a very hard text in the New Testament about work. It is found in the First Letter to Timothy. It is about the care of widows, but the principle is valid for Christian life in general. The text proclaims that if anyone does not care for his or her own family, the person “renounces the faith and is worse than an unbeliever" (1Tm 5:8). Human work in the Bible is encouraged as an act of responsibility for oneself and one’s family. In effect, to not work is shameful. What’s more, it is a sin, a way of abandoning biblical faith, which testifies that God has left all resources in the hands of humanity for humanization. The members of the Christian community do not abandon their human status, despite the tendency of some to consider themselves apart, privileged by their consecration. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It is true that the work proper to Christians is the proclamation of the Gospel and the promotion of salvation. But no where in the Bible is there a dispensation from ordinary work for evangelizers. Call to mind Christ whose primary mission was the redemption of the world. He was known as a carpenter in solidarity with the human race. Remember Paul, called to be the great Apostle of the nations. He was known as a tent maker so as to not impose on his converts. Who among us surpasses them in Christian commitment?
The hoe never lies. (Nande)
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