Each of us, at some point, has asked questions like: What can I do? How am I supposed to serve? Lord, how are You calling me to point others to You?

Those questions live in many of our hearts, especially when we hear readings like these today. We sense that we’re being invited to come out of ourselves, to do more to bring our faith to life, that we were made for more than simply focusing on our own lives. At the same time, it’s not always obvious what responding to that invitation looks like in reality. We know we are called to serve, but we are not always sure where to begin. We’re not sure what the Lord is calling us to do.

We know that through our Baptism, we were claimed by Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit. From that moment, we’re given a share in the mission of the Church. We’re called to be a witness to Jesus, to proclaim the Gospel, to bring others to an experience of the Lord’s love. That mission is not reserved for a few. It belongs to every single baptized person. We’re meant to profess the faith we have received and to help make Christ known in the world. In that sense, being light and salt, which we hear in the Gospel today, that’s not just something poetic, it’s not just a nice image. It’s who we are! It describes our identity. We are called to bring the Light of Christ and to be the salt that brings flavor and purity to the world.

Because this is about identity, it cannot be lived on the surface. We can’t point others to Someone we don’t actually know. At the heart of discipleship is a real, personal, intimate relationship with Jesus. If Jesus has taught us anything, it’s that God is not distant. He isn’t some dude who sits up in the clouds watching everything take place refusing to intervene in the world. He’s right here with us. He isn’t indifferent. He desires to be involved in every part of our lives. He already knows us completely and He wants to us to have that same kind of intimacy with Him. But that takes relationship. It takes us putting in the work to get to know who God is.

That relationship is formed and strengthened in simple ways…we tend to overcomplicate things. Something I tell the little ones who ask how to pray, and this might sound a bit cliché, but it’s true…Jesus wants to be your best friend. And if we look at the relationships we have in our lives, they don’t just come about without putting in effort. It takes spending time together, having deeper conversations, sharing our hearts, and (here’s the key!) listening to the other person do the same.

How do we do that with Jesus? Through personal prayer, through reading Scripture, through receiving the Eucharist, through owning up to our mistakes and seeking mercy and healing in Confession, through learning the teachings of the Church, and through sharing life with others who are also trying to follow the Lord. It’s really not that complicated. We just have to stop being lazy and put in the work. This is how we become rooted in Christ, and when we’re rooted in Him, our lives begin to change from the inside out.

That is something St. Paul understood very well. He was absolutely aware of his weaknesses and his fears. And yet, despite those challenges, he trusted that God would give him what was needed to do the work entrusted to him. The same Holy Spirit who worked in Paul is at work in us. What makes our witness effective is not having everything figured out, but allowing God to work through us.

Christ alone is the true Light of the world. Our lives are meant to reflect that light in concrete ways: caring for the poor, feeding the hungry, standing with those who suffer injustice, forgiving when it is hard, loving our families well, raising children and grandchildren in the faith, and showing patience and mercy in daily life. Most of the time, evangelization is done quietly. It looks like being faithful in those ordinary situations of life, those things that no one ever really sees.

A simple place to begin is to look honestly at our own relationship with the Lord. Are we staying close to Him? Are we giving Him space to speak and to act in our lives? Are we open to letting Him use the gifts He has given us?

That’s how we truly become those missionary disciples. Proclaiming the Gospel, telling others about Jesus, bringing His light to the world is not an option for us. It’s required. It’s engrained in our hearts. It’s who we are. This week, let’s go out and live it. 

Photo: Erwan Hesry. Used under Unsplash license.