How Do We Define a Christian?

The following homily was given by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde at Queen of Apostles Church in Alexandria on Sept. 26, the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

How would we define a Christian, a disciple, a follower of Jesus? I suspect that such a definition could be phrased a number of ways. In his first Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul writes: "But we have the mind of Christ" (2:16). Now there is a rather straightforward definition: a Christian, a disciple, a follower of Christ is the person who has the mind of Christ. In today’s second reading, taken from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians, we are reminded of what having the mind of Christ means. "Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus." What was Jesus’ attitude or mind like? His was an attitude of humility, trust and obedience to the will of God His Father. St. Paul outlines this attitude or mindset for us: "…though he was in the form of God, [He] did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave … he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

At Baptism, we were intimately joined to Christ. If we wish to be genuine Christians, disciples and followers, we must likewise have the same attitude or mindset which Christ has. We must be humble ourselves. Humility means seeing oneself as God created us to be, seeing oneself through God’s eyes. He gives each of us particular gifts and talents. We must neither make too much of them, as if we were their source nor make too little of them as if we were denying their existence. Rather, acknowledging that every gift or talent comes to us from God, we willingly and gladly put them at the service of others — for their benefit and for the glory of God.

If having the same attitude as Christ includes humility, it also involves trust and obedience to God’s will. Christ’s attitude certainly embraced both, so much so that we can speak of His trusting obedience and of His obedient trust. Is our attitude or mindset similar to His?

If we are honest, there are those times in life when we echo those words from the first reading: "The Lord’s way is not fair." It is relatively easy to be trusting and obedient to God’s will when all goes well for us. But, when the winds of adversity or the pain of loss touch us, we initially ask "why." A medical trauma, the unexpected or untimely death of a family member or friend, the loss of a job, false or malicious judgments: these cause us to face a difficult decision. Shall we trust in the Lord and obey His will, even if we do not understand from a human viewpoint, or shall we turn away from the Lord and become embittered? What did Jesus do?

He submitted in trust to the will of His Father even though that meant enduring false accusations, unbearable suffering and a criminal’s death on the cross, and He was totally innocent! Jesus did not cry out "The Lord’s way is not fair," rather, in the garden, He pleaded: "Father, if it is your will, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done" (Lk 22:42), and later, on the cross: "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit" (Lk 23:46). This was Christ’s attitude, His mindset. Is it ours?

Acquiring Christ’s attitude is not easy; it takes much prayer and penance. We need to pass from "I will do it my way" to "Let your way be fulfilled in me." We will surely struggle, yet we can more and more acquire Christ’s attitude. The parable Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel reading encourages us. The first son initially said "no" to his father’s request to "go out and work in the vineyard … but afterwards changed his mind and went." The second son said "yes" at first, but did not go. We can be like the first son; we can become converted.

In the prayer of this Eucharistic Sacrifice, let us seek from God the transforming grace to acquire the mind of Christ. Let us ask Jesus Himself as He comes to us in Holy Communion to give us His attitude, the attitude of humility, trust and obedience to the Father’s will. Yes, the real Christian can be described as the person having the mind of Christ. That is who we must be. If we do and as we do, we shall be living proof that for the followers of Christ, what counts in the end are actions, not words — the action of humble, trusting and obedient surrender to God’s loving plan and will for us.

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