Christ: the one for all

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

IN the gospel, we can hear Christ declaring himself as the door of the sheepfold. (cfr. Jn 10,7-9) “I am the door,” he said. “By me, if any man enters in, he shall be saved, and shall go in, and go out, and shall find pastures.”

With these words, we are made to understand that he is the sole legitimate entrance to human salvation, the protector who safeguards the sheep (us) from harm, contrasting himself from false leaders and prophets who would only exploit the flock.

In other words, he depicts himself as the only and unique mediator, as articulated once by St. Paul when he said: “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim 2,5) In short, his salvific mission and mediation have a universal scope, and not just meant for some people.

In this regard, we can cite some points from a Vatican document, issued way back in 2000, entitled “Dominus Iesus, on the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church.” It responded and clarified certain theological trends that denied Christ’s exclusive mediation and proposed alternative and complementary revelations.

It’s definitely a delicate topic that has to be studied well and thoroughly. But first of all, it has to be studied in a way that is always guided by faith and not just by pure human reason that can present all kinds of theories, hypotheses and assumptions.

Let’s remember that the ultimate proof of the credibility of our Christian faith is the fact that Christ who is regarded as the fullness of revelation can truly be regarded as God because among the many good things he did, he finally resurrected from the dead.

Christ’s resurrection is the pivotal event that validates his claims about his divinity. It shows his power over death and the fulfillment of the prophecies that showed his relationship with God—that he is not just a man, a very special man, but first of all, he is God, the son of God who became man for our salvation.

We need to constantly strengthen this belief especially nowadays when there are many elements that tend to distract and weaken our belief in Christ. There even are open efforts to present an alternative to Christ.

We need to do everything to make Christ the constant focus and center of our life. May everything that we do, from our thoughts and desires to our words and deeds, begin with Christ as the inspiration, continue with Christ as our main help, and reach its target with Christ as the goal himself.

Let’s convince ourselves that any way of being and acting that is outside of this loop would expose us to deadly moral and spiritual dangers. Thus, right from the beginning of the day, as when we wake up, the first thing that should come to mind is regain this awareness that we need Christ always.

And so, we should develop the practice of making a morning offering to Christ of everything that will take place on that day as soon as we get up from bed in the morning. It’s what saints and many other people have been doing to set the proper human and supernatural tone to their daily affairs, giving them a sense of direction and purpose for the day.

The effort to give the first thought of the day to Christ is all worthwhile since it corresponds to the fundamental reality that our life is always, from beginning to end, a shared life with Christ and therefore also with God the Father, Creator, and God the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier. Christ should be our all! (cfr. Col 3,11)

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com