It’s been a while since my last post, and tonight seems like a good time to make amends. I’m going to do something new – reach back into my “draft” file and dust off one of the many unfinished reflections which never got posted because I ran out of time.  This one took shape back in September but I don’t think it’s lost any relevance in the two months it’s sat incubating.

Be an Ambassador for Christ

One of my responsibilities as an alumni staff member at the Catholic Spiritual Mentorship Program in Kansas City is to be hospitable and get to know as many of the participants as I can.  Since much of our days are structured, we have to be intentional about taking advantage of breaks and mealtimes to get to know one another. 

I thought I’d done a decent job of meeting everyone, but today I found myself at the coffee bar standing behind Charlie and Julie, husband and wife, a couple with whom I’d not yet had the pleasure of officially meeting.  I realized that this week of classes would be over in two days and I’d probably never see them again.  Then and there I thought, “I need to get to know these folks”.  So, I waited for Charlie to fill his cup and then said, “Charlie, I apologize but we’ve spent all this time together in the same building and we haven’t had a chance to talk.  Let’s change that and have lunch together.”  He and Julie both lit up with smiles and replied they would like that very much.  

We walked and talked on our way to the dining hall and I learned a little about them.  I said I wanted to hear their story and was surprised to hear Julie say that they already knew much of mine because someone had introduced them to this blog.  Then, over lunch we had a beautiful conversation.  Charlie and Julie shared some of their personal life with me, their love for Jesus and their desire to lead others closer to Him.  Like the spiritual mentors they are training to be, they asked me good questions that prompted me to share more of my story with them, too.  

Charlie and Julie are very nice people with warm smiles and gentle eyes.  Like many folks, however, they are slightly uncomfortable in meeting new people and making the first move to initiate a conversation.  But, all it took was someone to take the initiative, to be intentional, and to express an interest in them, and they were ready to welcome a new friend.

Charlie and Julie are not unique in this world,  There are millions of people just like them who are eager for friendship and the chance to tell their story if only someone would be interested enough to listen.  These people are not elsewhere. They are in our parishes, our neighborhoods and our workplaces.  They are the people sitting next to you in the church pew, or the new parishioner who’s just moved to town and doesn’t know anyone.  They could be someone who is lost and despairing, and God put you in their path on purpose.

As Catholics, we need to be ambassadors of friendship.  We need to be Ambassadors for Christ.  We need to be welcoming and hospitable and help others find happiness in the world by delighting in them and helping them feel relevant, and affirming that they are beloved sons and daughters of God.

To take the first step in becoming an Ambassador for Christ, it may require you to get out of your comfort zone.  You may need to prepare by thinking, “I’m going to intentionally meet someone new today!”  When you do, you’ll need the courage to reach out for a handshake and say, “Hi, I’m [name], I don’t think we’ve met before.  What’s your name?”  You may need to be ready with a follow-up question that will propagate the conversation such as (if they are new in the parish), “Oh,  welcome, we’re glad to have you!  Where are you from?”  It’s actually pretty simple.  Some of my closest friendships began just this way.

Although your next best friend might just be the person you’re about to meet, you don’t have to approach someone with the intention of becoming best friends.  One can enter into a friendship with nothing in common except knowing that you have a shared love for our Lord.  A friendship such as this allows you to open up about your successes and struggles in your walk with Jesus.  It’s a friendship in which you accompany each other on your journeys. 

Each one of us can have a spiritual friendship with another person.  Whether we admit it or not, we need each other.  God made us for each other.  He shows His love for us through other people.  We just have to seek and be open to opportunities, be open to where and to whom the holy Spirit is leading us, and invest in another person by listening to their story.

Charlie and Julie and I spent less than an hour together.  We may never see each other again.  But I know we could pick up the conversation right where we left off.  The friendship we built in those few minutes will endure.  I think we brought each other just a little bit closer to Christ.  I am grateful for the grace to get out of my comfort zone and meet someone new, and I’m grateful to Charlie and Julie for enriching my life by sharing their story with me.  

Charlie and Julie, peace to you both, my friends!  I know your love for Jesus and others will enable you to be amazing Ambassadors for Christ.  God bless!

“Dear God, thank You for the grace to set aside my personal discomfort and introverted-ness to become a better missionary disciple, an Ambassador for Your Son, Jesus.  May the examples I set encourage others to also reach out and become Ambassadors who in turn will proclaim the Good News of the Gospel.  Amen.”

(Be an Ambassador for Christ was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

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