Beinbg Proud of Your Christianity

Be Proud of Being a Christian
A Reflection for Seventh Sunday After Easter
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Franciscans of Divine Mercy
www.missionstsergius.org
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Divine_Mercy_Franciscans

The readings today are very powerful and affirming as they instruct us to be proud of being a follower of Christ, A Christian, and infer that when we are punished or ridiculed by others for proclaiming our faith and living out our faith as Jesus instructed, we should realize how much Christ loves us because He allows us to share in His suffering.
“If you can have some share in the sufferings of Christ, be glad, because you will enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is revealed. It is a blessing for you when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ, because it means that you have the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God resting on you. None of you should ever deserve to suffer for being a murderer, a thief, a criminal or an informer; but if anyone of you should suffer for being a Christian, then he is not to be ashamed of it; he should thank God that he has been called one.” (1 Peter 4:13 - 16)
Being called a Christian is not an insult, or something to be ashamed of, it is a heavenly honor bestowed upon us by Almighty God and His beloved son, Jesus Christ.
Let us face it, in today’s society many people claim to be Christians, but when you look closely, their actions are diametrically opposite the teachings of Christ. Many discriminate and reject God’s children for reasons that are selfish or based on ignorance. People are refused participation in the worship of God because of their race, nationality, or sexual orientation or divorce. Children are refused Baptism because their parent is a single parent. This is not what Jesus taught.
If we are ashamed to live and act as Christ taught us and showed us by His actions, then we should not claim we are Christian.
If we do not have compassion for the sick, aged, homeless, and poor and reach out to help them, then we cannot claim to be a follower of Christ.
If we do not support and assist in the work of those who try to live the teachings of Christ by giving back some of the gifts God has provided us, we can not claim to be living out the message of Christ.
Being proud to be a Christian means we are not ashamed to say a prayer of thanksgiving to God before eating a meal;, even when that is in a public place.
Being proud and living out a Christian life means to be active in the ministry of Christ and worshiping God by prayer, receiving the Gift of Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist, and speaking out against injustice when ever we encounter it.
The Gospel reading from John 17:1 - 21 is the prayer Christ said in the Garden just before being betrayed and handed over to fulfill the plan of our salvation.
“Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: ‘Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you; and, through the power over all mankind that you have given him, let him give eternal life to all those you have entrusted to him. Moreover, eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ….. I have made your name known to the men you took from the world to give me. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now at last they know that all you have given me comes indeed from you; for I have given them the teaching you gave to me, and they have truly accepted this, that I came from you, and have believed that it was you who sent me. I pray for them; I am praying for those you have given me, because they belong to you: all I have is yours and all you have is mine, and in them I am glorified… Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us.’ While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. ….. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one… Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth… I have sent them into the world… While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. …..I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”
This prayer ends with Christ asking God, His Father, to protect from the Evil one all who accept to live as Christians and commissioning us to go out into the world and proclaim God’s will by word and deed.
“They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”
Christ not only gave us The Truth, but He was the Light that showed us the way to the Father and that was is to live out our lives in the same way Christ, St. Francis and Mother Teresa of Calcutta and all those who speak out against injustice, poverty, homelessness, and discrimination have before us.
Being proud of your Christianity is to live your life every day by being Christ centered in prayer, word, action and doing it without fear of being ridiculed for it. AMEN