Thy Kingdom Come Christ Has No One But You Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which He looks With compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which He blesses all the world. – St. Teresa of Avila Sister Joyce Marie Bates has ministered in education, diocesan vocation ministry, parish ministry, and children’s homes. She has spent many years doing JPIC work for the community. She presently serves as the Co-chair of the Advisory Council for the JPIC National Office for the Sisters of Notre Dame. She also works part time at St. Mary Parish, Wakeman, OH and Miriam House, a long-term shelter for homeless women and children.
This prayer of St.Teresa perfectly exemplifies what it means to be a Christian – a disciple of Christ. It means that one walks in the world being Christ’s eyes, hands, and feet. A disciple today works for justice, shows compassion, lives peaceably among all peoples and in God’s creation. Discipleship is found in a relationship with Christ and in a commitment to his mission of bringing “glad tidings to the poor, liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and to let the oppressed go free.” (Lk. 4:18)
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Scripture provides us with insights and powerful examples to understand how to live in right relationships with our loving God of life. Jesus perfectly exemplified this love in word and action throughout the Gospel stories. Working for peace and justice means being in right relationship with God, my neighbor, the earth, and myself. It is the Gospel message of inclusion. Our faith calls us to take our rich tradition of Catholic Social Teaching and make it all about LOVE! During my recent trip as a volunteer to the Texas-Mexico border, I came to understand more deeply who my neighbor is and how I am Christ to those who are in need. As I was working with other volunteers to serve our guests at a Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center, I saw the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Since I could not speak Spanish very well, I tried to give each person a smile and I blessed the children on their foreheads saying “Dios te bendiga” (May God bless you.) The parents seemed to appreciate my simple gesture of showing Christ’s love to them.
Each of us is called to be the eyes, hands, and feet of Christ right now, right where we live. Expressing this call does not have to be a big project. We can be Christ to others in small and simple ways: by visiting an elderly neighbor, emailing Congress to change an unjust law, speaking up in support of our brothers and sisters of color when a racial remark is made, volunteering at a food bank or other charitable outreach organizations. We pray so easily and quickly the Lord’s Prayer, but do we ever reflect on the meaning of the words: “Thy kingdom come…” or “…on earth as it is in heaven”? With our acts of compassion and love we help to bring about on our planet the fullness of God’s Kingdom where one day God will be All-in-All and all of creation will live in peace, harmony, and love. The blessings of faith are most abundant when they are shared. I invite you to find ways within your own community to put the messages found in Scripture into action in your unique way.
