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WORD OF LIFE June 1999 "Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it." (Mt. 10:39) In reading this Word of Life, two kinds of existence come into relief: the earthly life, which is built in this world, and the supernatural life given by God through Jesus, a life which does not end with death and which no one can take away from us. Therefore, we can choose between two attitudes: one is to be attached to our earthly life, considering it as our only "good." This attitude leads to thinking only of ourselves, only of our own affairs, only of our children, thereby sealing ourselves up within a shell and affirming only our ego. This road inevitably ends up in the emptiness of certain death. The other choice, instead, is to believe that God has given us a much more profound and authentic existence. This gives us the courage to live in a manner that merits this gift to the point of "losing" our earthly life for the other life. "Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it." When Jesus said these words he was thinking of martyrdom. Like all Christians, we should be ready to follow the Master and to remain faithful to the Gospel, to lose our life, even to die a violent death, if necessary, and with the grace of God, we will obtain the true life. Jesus was the first one who "lost his life," and he regained it glorified. He warned us not to be afraid of those "who kill the body but cannot kill the soul" (Mt. 10:28). Today he tells us: "Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it." If you read the Gospel carefully, you will see that Jesus goes back to this thought six times. This shows how important it is and how much Jesus values it. But for Jesus, the exhortation to lose one’s life is not only an invitation to martyrdom. It is a fundamental law of Christian life. We must be ready to renounce setting up our own selves as the ideal of our lives and to give up our selfishness. If we want to be authentic Christians, we must put Christ at the center of our lives. What does Christ want from us? Love for others. If this becomes our lifestyle, we will have "lost" our own lives, and found eternal life. And not living for oneself certainly does not mean, as some people may think, to be laid back and passive. Indeed, Christians need to be firmly committed and fully responsible. "Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it." Even in this life, it is possible to experience that by giving of ourselves, by putting love into every action, "life" grows within us. When we spend our day at the service of others, when we transform our work (which is perhaps monotonous and tedious) into a gesture of love, we experience the joy of greater fulfillment. "Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it." By following Jesus’ commandments, which all focus on love, after this brief life we will find eternal life as well. Let us remember what Jesus will do and say on the day of judgment. To those on his right: "Come, you that are blessed by my Father ... for I was hungry and you gave me food … I was a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you gave me clothing …" (Mt 25:34-36). To make us participate in the life that does not pass away, he will look at just one thing: if we loved our neighbor. He will consider as done to himself whatever we did to them. How then should we live this Word of Life? How should we "lose" our life even now in order to find it? By preparing ourselves for that great and decisive final exam for which we were born. Let’s look around us and fill our day with acts of love. Christ presents himself to us in our children, in our wife, in our husband, in the people we work with, we do politics with, we relax with. Let’s do good to everyone. And let’s not forget those we come to know about every day through friends or through the media… Let’s do something for everyone, according to our means. When we have exhausted our means, we can still pray for our neighbor. Loving is what counts. 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: ncporder@aol.com. © 1999 - Living City of Focolare Movement - P.O. Box 837, Bronx, New York 10465 Presented here with permission of the publishers Home What is the Focolare Movement? Mariapolis Luminosa Word of Life |