There are over a billion people on the planet who have solemnly promised to live a life of loving service to God. For that is what baptism and confirmation mean. Millions renew this promise each Sunday. That’s what saying the Creed and receiving Communion mean. But what do our actions say? Sadly, most baptized Christians have lifestyles that don’t quite match the words they profess.
Actions speak louder than words. The tongue often lies. But body language never lies. It reveals our true trajectory, our real priorities.
God’s Word is more than words. His Word is so substantial that it is a Person, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. And this Word was not satisfied to say “I love you.” Rather He leapt into action, stripped Himself of glory, assumed the form of a slave, healed the sick, and washed feet. The last and ultimate word of the Word was the Cross, the most eloquent love letter ever written, the final PS of a 33-year life of love in action (Phil 2:1-11).
We don’t need to win God’s favor through perfect deeds. The Son did this for us because we were unable. But we do need to admit our need for Him, repent of our sins, accept what Jesus did for us, and seek the will of the Father in the power of the Spirit.
We say “sorry.” But contrition is more than saying sorry. It includes the determination to change our lives with the help of God’s grace and to avoid “the near occasion of sin.” If we say we regret falling off a cliff and then, soon after, walk right up to the edge again, our actions drown out our weak words. If we go to confession for sexual sin yet fail to unsubscribe to Playboy magazine, we may be fooling the priest and maybe even ourselves, but we aren’t fooling God.
When in the parable of the two sons, one boy says yes to the will of His Father and fails to do it, there were probably excuses given. “I forgot.” “I’ll get around to it later.” “I was too busy.” “I do more than my fair share — let my brother do it.” God is wise to all this. He hears the real answer being given: No. The younger son shouldn’t have said no to the Father verbally. But he had a change of heart. And his actions revealed that change of heart.
Many can’t see how a loving God could possibly condemn anyone to hell. I think the answer is simple. Yes, He is a loving God — Who happens also to be an honest God. And He insists that the people He has created free be honest with themselves and accept responsibility for the answer they freely choose to give to His call. No “maybes.” No “let me think about it.” Just a simple yes or no. Up until the very end, we have the freedom to change our answers. But the final answers which God reads are not written in Hebrew, Greek, or Roman script, but in the characters formed by our deeds.
Dr. D'Ambrosio studied under Avery Cardinal Dulles for his Ph.D. in historical theology and taught for many years at the University of Dallas. He now directs www.crossroadsinitiative.com, which offers Catholic resources for RCIA, adult faith formation, and teens, with a special emphasis on the Year of the Eucharist, the Theology of the Body, the early Church Fathers, and the sacrament of confirmation.
(This article originally appeared in Our Sunday Visitor and is used by permission of the author.)
For information on Dr. D'Ambrosio’s New Years pilgrimage to the Holy Land, visit www.crossroadsinitiative.comor call 800.803.0118.
