FEBRUARY 2000

"To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak.
I have become all things to all,
to save at least some at any cost." (1 Cor 9:22)

    In carrying out his extraordinary mission, the Apostle Paul conducted his life in a particular way. He strove to become all things to all people. In fact, he tried to understand everyone, to enter into the mentality of each person, to be a Jew with the Jews, and with the non-Jews–those without a law revealed by God–to be as one without the law.

   Paul followed the Jewish customs whenever this helped diminish the barriers or draw someone to God; but when he worked in the Greco-Roman world, he assumed aspects of that culture. He wrote:

"To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak.
I have become all things to all, to save at least some at any cost."

    But who were the weak?

   They were Christians who, because of their fragile conscience and limited knowledge, were easily scandalized. For example, there was the question of whether or not Christians could eat the meat of animals sacrificed to idols. Paul, knowing that there is only one God, understood that if other gods do not exist, there is no problem in eating meat sacrificed to them. But the "weak," accustomed as they were to reasoning in a certain way and lacking instruction, could have come to the opposite conclusion and been confused. And so Paul put himself in their situation and, being sensitive to their weak understanding, he decided that in order to avoid troubling their consciences, it would be advisable not to eat such meat.

"To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak.
I have become all things to all, to save at least some at any cost."

    But what prompted Paul to act in this way?

    Even in the liberating reality of Christianity that he announced, Paul recognized the need–or rather, the imperative–to become the slave of someone: of his brothers and sisters, of each neighbor, because his model was the crucified Christ.

    By becoming man, God drew close to every human being, but on the cross, he proved his solidarity with each of us sinners, with our weaknesses, our sufferings, our anguish, our ignorance, our questions, our burdens, our moments of darkness.

   Paul, too, wanted to live this way, and he declared:

"To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak.
I have become all things to all, to save at least some at any cost."

    How, then, can we too live this new Word of Life?

    We know that the purpose of our life and of each new day is to reach God– and not alone, but with our brothers and sisters. In fact, we also, as Christians, have received a call from God similar to the one received by Paul. Like the Apostle, we too must "save" someone, must "save some at any cost."

    The way? "Making ourselves one" with our neighbors, whether they be children or adults, ignorant or well-educated, rich or poor, men or women, fellow citizens or foreigners. There are those we meet during the day, those with whom we speak on the phone, and those for whom we work.

    We need to love all, but to prefer the weakest. We need to make ourselves weak with those who are weak in order to win over the weak. We need to reach out to those who are weak in faith, indifferent, to those who profess to be atheists or who belittle religion.

    If we make ourselves one with them, we will find that Paul’s apostolic reaching out always works: we will bear witness to God in a way that will touch those whom we meet.

    Therefore, if you read these lines and happen to have a spouse who does not like the Church, and who enjoys spending hours watching TV, remember that you may want to keep him or her company whenever you can, as much as you can, taking a lively interest in what he or she likes to watch most.

    Do you have a son who has made sports the center of his life, so much so that he is not interested in anything else, and has even forgotten how to pray? Become a more avid sports fan than he is himself.

    Do you have friends who love to travel, to read, to study and who have thrown to the wind all religious principles? Try to understand their preferences and needs.

    Make yourself one–with everyone, in everything except sin. In the case of anything sinful, disassociate yourself. You will see that when you make yourself one with your neighbor you don’t waste time, you gain it.

    One day, in the not-too-distant future, your neighbor will want to know what interests you. And then, gratefully, will discover, adore and love that God who is the driving force of your Christian life.

Chiara Lubich

The commentary to the Word of Life is translated in 90 different languages and dialects, and reaches more than 14 million people worldwide, through the press, and radio and TV programs. If you would like to read experiences of life related to this or to past "Words of Life," they can be found in Living City magazine, the monthly publication of the Focolare Movement. For information, or to subscribe, write to: Living City, P.O. Box 837, Bronx, NY 10465. A book, From Scripture to Life, containing Words of Life with commentary by Chiara Lubich and related experiences of life is available through New City Press, the publishing house of the Focolare, 202 Cardinal Road, Hyde Park, NY 12538.
To order the book or magazine, call: 1-800-462-5980. E-mail: info@newcitypress.com

© 2000 - Living City of Focolare Movement - P.O. Box 837, Bronx, New York 10465

Presented here with permission of the publishers

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