Christ Perfects Cultures

Do you ever stop to reflect on the blessings we receive as a result of Christ’s saving grace bringing together people from various cultures worldwide? It’s truly an incredible thing. And the best part is, the invitation isn’t for us to change Christ. It’s for Christ to rejuvenate us and lead us to perfection.

In my Christmas Day 2022 message, I invited all of our cherished members, collaborators, and readers to reflect on one of the core values of our ministry—grace. I drew on the relevance of the message of Our Lady of Grace. I extended the conversation during the January 1st reflection. Subsequently, I discussed how fighting for peace and being messengers of peace also involves relating to everyone with empathetic, self-sacrificing love, just as Christ would. Likewise, I invited all of us to delve deeper into the Lord’s invitation in our daily lives. Christ invites us, as Catholics, to be agents of divine grace wherever we find ourselves.

All of this is just a hint at some of the values shaping our Catholic nonprofit organization. As we celebrate ten years of living and sharing God’s word and love through the media this August 12, I invite us to circle back to these values and reflect on their importance to our mission.

Christ-Centered Culture

Today, I reflect on another one of the five core values of our ministry. It is the reality that in our effort toward cross-cultural evangelization, Christ is the center of it all. We believe firmly in the purity and supremacy of Christ over any culture. We also recognize the blessings of each distinct culture. This belief aligns with Sacred Scripture and the Church’s Sacred Tradition. Over the past two thousand years, Magisterial writings richly flesh out specific details of this truth.

We disagree that any human culture is perfect. The idea that every culture is perfect is spurious. More so is the idea that a culture doesn’t need the refreshing spirit of the Gospel. In other words, claims of a perfect culture are contrary to the Christian view of evangelizing culture. Moreover, the assumption that a culture must change if it is different from the mainstream cultural expressions, is also not in line with the Gospel standards.

Within and above Each Culture

The Christ-centered culture is a culture that lives within each distinctive culture but whose ethos is entirely in the discipleship of the Lord’s standards. This culture doesn’t often align with the mainstream. Thus, the idea that Christianity should aspire to get along with every culture by embracing all their values and ethics is the very opposite of the mission of Christ.

The Lord provided ample evidence in Scripture that his mission contradicts human cultures’ norms and sets a higher standard than societal norms. For example, Jesus states in John 15:19: “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” And in John 17:14, he says, “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.”

The early witnesses of the Gospel also followed this truth. There are several evidence in 1 John 2:15, James 4:4 and Philippians 3:20. Galatians 6:14, Colossians 3:2, 1 Peter 2:11, and 2 Corinthians 6:17 affirm the same truth. Romans 12:2 challenges believers not to conform to the world but to be transformed by Christ.

Similarly, the Church reinforces this truth, from the early Fathers in the first century to the most recent papal documents that discuss culture and the Gospel. Evangelization aims to let Christ renew individuals and cultures. As stated in Evangelii Nuntiandi number 8, it is “bringing the Good News into all the strata of humanity, and through its influence, transforming humanity from within and making it new: ‘Now I am making the whole of creation new.’”

What about Christendom?

But what about Catholicism, or Christendom, in which the majority or the rule of that majority’s political structures is the mainstream? I believe a political majority state called Christian is not a measure of authentic Gospel. In the past, some used this ideological thinking as justification for coercive evangelization practices.

The Lord stated that the believer ceases to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth if the world and earth bond with it. When the world praises the Christian way of life, ethics, and spirituality, where then lies its relevance as the salt of the earth? Our mission is to be witnesses of the Gospel. We shouldn’t feel we win because we are the majority or that we lose because we are in the minority.

As Christians, we must remember that the authentic Christian culture is, at best, a minority culture. And yet, it is this minority that acts as the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

By culture in the context of this reflection, I mean the ways and means through which people live and make sense of the world in which they live. It is that which reflects their shared values, beliefs, and collective attitudes to life and its complex maps of meaning.

Therefore, let’s continue striving towards a Christ-centered culture, allowing Christ to renew us and our distinct cultures. A Christ-centered culture is one in which Christ is the ultimate map of meaning. In it, the Gospel value shapes the lives and values of the people. Life in Christ also is the ultimate goal of a Christ-centered culture. 

It Isn’t for Us to Change Christ, but that Christ will Change Us

Hence, we believe in the redemption of cultures in Christ. Christ brings us together to learn from Him in our Christ-centered mission. We understand that Christ-centeredness is a call not to change Christ; it is impossible and presumptuous to believe we could. Instead, we should allow Christ to rejuvenate us and lead us to perfection.

When we look to the early church and the first witnesses of Christ’s Gospel, we see outstanding models for appreciating this fact of our Catholic Christian faith. For example, in Acts 11:1-18, Saint Peter recounted to the apostles how he received a dream from the Lord asking him to go against his cultural norms and bear witness to another culture. The Lord had shown Cornelius, a Caesarean Italian Cohort, a vision to send for Peter (Acts 10).

These two individuals representing two distinct cultures saw each other as vastly different and at odds with each other. Yet, God broke down the barriers to their dialogue. The Spirit of Christ invited them to share in His revitalizing presence. It is through the welcoming of Christ that their cultures and understanding were enriched and sanctified.

Mutual Blessings

Let’s not assume that it was the gentile Cornelius and his family who benefited the most from the exchange. Both received saving favors. When we see Christ face to face in heaven, we will know who was the greatest beneficiary of the two.

In the meantime, one thing is obvious. The first Pope learned first-hand from the Lord’s vision that to be a true witness of the Gospel—an invitation extended to all of us—one must not replace the Gospel standards with their cultural values. Cultural values and experiences add to the wealth of the Gospel if they are not opposed to it. Christ sets the standards for cultural purity and sanctification. The reverse is not the case.

Christ Perfects Cultures

In Christ, we can see the shared values of redemption that perfect all cultures. Christ-centered evangelization brings all cultures into the rejuvenating grace of Christ. It inspires us to see one another in our diverse nature and experiences as family, not strangers. Through this process, we can build together and break down walls of division or discrimination while celebrating each culture’s uniqueness.

Therefore, I encourage us to continue in our Christ-centered mission, allowing Christ to renew us and lead us to perfection. Let’s follow the Church’s example and strive to bring our distinct cultures into Christ’s transforming grace. We can break down barriers and celebrate each other’s uniqueness in Christ. May we always remember that it is not for us to change Christ but for Christ to change us. Let us be open to His transforming power and live lives that reflect His love and grace. Let this be our concrete call to action as GVM clocks 10.

Grace to you!

Today’s Daily Inspiration