“Our life and our death is with our neighbor. If we win our brother, we win God. If we cause our brother to stumble, we have sinned against Christ.”--St. Anthony
This quote might be difficult to embrace. We’ve been taught otherwise. In our individualistic culture, we’ve been trained to believe that I’m free to do whatever I want, whenever I want--I’m not answerable to anyone but myself.
The church believes (should believe) in an alternative way of life. In scripture we discover that we are to live with other people in mind. Our attitudes and actions should be shaped by the impact they might make on the community, on our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Isn’t that what Jesus proclaimed last Sunday? He warned against causing another to stumble: “Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come.” Paul writes a similar message in Romans 14.15: “If your brother or sister is being injured by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love . . .” Did you hear that? Maybe we should substitute the word “do” for the word “eat”--if someone is injured by what we do, we are no longer walking in love.
So the call is simple enough to understand: as disciples we are bound to one another, and we are called to live responsibly for one another. It’s not just Jesus and me but Jesus and we. Our life and our death is truly with our neighbor. Let’s live in such a way that we win our neighbor for God. Peace!
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