What does it mean to have a new life in Christ? Life in Christ is different from regular worldly life and for many of us, this time of shut-down is an opportunity to really examine ourselves and ask am I living in Christ.

I listened to a talk recently about the early Christians, before Christianity was legalized and one of the things that everyone agrees on is that the Christians lived differently than their neighbors. And he gave an example of what happens with a pandemic. The conventional wisdom of the day was that if someone got sick, you leave them, even if it’s a family member. You stock them up with food, wish them well, and leave. Christians didn’t do that. They not only stayed with their family members they even cared for their pagan neighbors when their family abandoned them. And there are many examples like this where Christians did not follow conventional wisdom of their society – they followed Jesus, and so their life was different.

The Gospels focus on some conditions for this new life in Christ. This is something that has been with me since the Easter Vigil. At the Easter Vigil Mass, there’s a line there that really hit me.

If, then, we have died with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him.

IF we have died with Christ!!!!  I think the reason it hit me so hard was because I knew there was no way I could say that I have died with Christ. To die with Christ means I’m dead, I’m no longer living according to my ideas, my plans, no longer seeking what I want. I’m living for Him, according to His desires, according to His ideas of what is good, His plan. So, I’ve spent a lot of time praying about this and how I can grow.

In Matthew 10:37- 42, Jesus says much the same thing: 

Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Jesus is our life.

He goes on,

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;

This is just shocking. Think about this, the 10 commandments are divided into 2 sections, the first 3 are about love of God, the next 7 are love of neighbor. The first commandment for love of neighbor is to honor your mother and father. To the ancient Jewish mind, and even in our own day, family comes first. In 1 Timothy, St. Paul talks about caring for widows in the Church, but, if they have children or grandchildren, let them provide. He goes on to say if any one does not provide for his relatives, and especially his own family, he has disowned the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. So, love of family is absolutely paramount. But Jesus says, I come first. Put Jesus first, and our family loves will be good, and holy. We all have family situations where we sometimes have to choose between following Jesus, or going along with the family. If we choose the family, we have momentary peace and everyone will be happy; but we will not have Christ. Sometimes we have to choose Jesus, it’s not possible to have both.

Jesus goes on,

whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.

The ancient Jewish people were very familiar with the cross. Crucifixion was excruciating and humiliating. Jesus is saying if we’re not willing to take that on and follow Him, we’re not worthy of Him.

These words are just unbelievably demanding and challenging. What are we to make of this?

First, everything Jesus says here, he has done first. He loved us first.

Second, this level of friendship and love doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time to grow. The specifics of how we follow Jesus are going to vary from person to person. But, there are a couple common characteristics, and they are summarized perfectly in a statement from Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection in the book The Practise of the Presence of God where in the fourth conversation he says

“All consists in one hearty renunciation of everything which we are sensible does not lead to God; that we might accustom ourselves to a continual conversation with Him, with freedom and in simplicity.”

There are 2 elements here. First, Hearty renunciation of everything which we are sensible does not lead to God. It’s hearty, strong, firm, and its not just the bad stuff. We’re seeking life in Christ, to die. As one small example where this applies in my life, I like to read Catholic news stories and my natural inclination is to read those stories I’m curious about or that will justify my own preferences. So, i’ve become much more selective. As I’m scanning the headlines I’ll be asking – will this lead me to God? If not, I let it go.

The 2^nd element is that we might accustom ourselves to a continual conversation with Him with freedom and in simplicity; frequent conversation with Him throughout the day, and just ordinary conversation. Joni does this all the time. Actually, I asked her if she talks to Jesus a lot during the day, and she said, “Well, I talk a lot, so, yes, I do talk a lot to Jesus.” I’m working on it. It makes total sense. If we talk with Him frequently throughout the day, He’s going to be a major part of our lives.

I started off talking about the early Christians. They eventually won. The Church was growing 40% every decade for the first 300 years. And they did this at a time when there were no church buildings, no schools; all they had was Jesus, the sacraments, and each other. They won because they were living a new life in Jesus and it was attractive.

So, brothers and sisters, every day let us choose Jesus. Every morning, let us consciously and firmly, choose Jesus. Let us renounce those things that don’t lead us to Him, and have frequent and friendly discourse with Him who we know loves us, and in time, we will be living a new life in Him, just like our ancestors. God bless you all.