It's been hard for me to "let go" of the western mindset. Especially having so fiercely defended the whole notion of there being no salvation outside the Church (except in rare, individual cases known only to God). While even then, I tried not to let myself worry about others salvation when my own was far from being certain. But I still experience difficulty in letting go of the things I had sort of trained/conditioned myself to hold on to/defend from scrutiny.
Christ is in our midst!!
Colin:
I have had a similar epiphany. I had a strict formation as a Latin Catholic, struggled in public school that had a strictly anti-Catholic atmosphere, and suffered for being a Latin Catholic in my attempts to obtain employment in my field.
As I worked with people of various backgrounds, I learned a valuable lesson. There are many people who get along very well without being Latin Catholic. There are many people who don't want to be Latin Catholic because of the triumphalism that used to be part of the attitude that used to be prevalent--that they were lost and we were "the chosen." I learned that there are many people who profess to be Christian who shame the average man in the pew by the way they live their lives; not all, but many. I was hired by two men who told me they didn't care if I went to church or did not, but they would take a chance on me and watch my character. I worked in a place where the bulk of the people we served had anti-Catholicism as half of their Christianity but decided they liked me for who I was--took ten years before they found out because I did not wear my religion on my sleeve. After 12 years there were over 200 letters to my bosses telling them what they thought of my caring service. The senior partner told me he had worked at the firm for 50 years, owned it for 31, and had never had anyone send him a "thank you" note for his service. Not bragging; been told that and had not seen these letters before being told of them. Be that way--do what you do because you are Christ's servant and it's for Him.
I discovered that people could work together for common goals without fighting over obscure theology points. That is not syncretism, but the reality of being in a pluralistic society with many identifying as having no religious adherence and actually being proud of it because of the self-righteous way many religious people live and act toward others. Be Christ's servant even when others do not know it or see it--He will.
It all hit home one time when a very prominent person that I introduced my wife to told her at that introduction that "your husband is one of the good guys in the profession." Humbling.
It's how we live and treat others.
There is a proposal I gave to a group I studied with years ago that they said--to a one--changed their lives. I call it "The Holy Face." Take a week and practice seeing Jesus Christ in the face of each person you meet, asking you for something in that moment's encounter for something only you can give at that time. It may be a smile; may be a greeting in passing; may be holding a door for the person behind you--something very simple. You don't know and won't know if it is Him until the end of your life. But what a surprise if He says, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
