Reading the Word must be realistic so as not to disconnect it from reality and utopian to fuel dreams, so necessary for life.
The Gospel of this Sunday encourages that YOUR GOOD WORKS BE SEEN. It is usually understood as “works of charity”: the good behavior of someone who is kind, someone who is moved and lends a hand to the poor. Those good works proper to the Christian are the ones that should be seen.
But perhaps there’s something more: the works of compassion and justice are those that shape Christian identity. Indeed, according to the Gospel, one is not a good Christian for reasons and religious behaviors, but for ethical reasons. Belonging or not to the group of followers of Jesus is deduced from a kind and supportive behavior. Do you have good deeds to your name? You are a follower; you don’t have them? You are not yet a follower.
What should the deeds of a follower of Jesus be like?
· Hidden works: so that your left hand does not know what your right hand does (Mt 6:3), without publicity, without fanfare, without craving applause, without pretending to gain a reputation for being good. Good “in secret” where the Father sees it (Mt 6:4).
· Daring works: that involve the risk of losing good reputation so that those who are socially questioned may benefit. That’|s why they called Jesus “glutton and drunkard” (Mt 11:19). Good works that do not fear criticism and the disdain of the well-meaning.
· Luminous works: that open horizons, that suggest paths, that encourage the new, that break away from routines and well-trodden paths. Works that speak the future language of those who glimpse the new (Rev 21:5).
In short, we all know it, the works of the supporter are works of justice, compassion and inclusion. Works of humanity. That’s why the evangelical works are not valued for the quantity of what is given, but for the attitude of the heart that is given (Lk 21:3-4). One could gloss the evangelical phrase: “that they may see your human heart through your works of humanity.”
San Francis of Assisi rightly said: “It is greatly shameful that the saints did good works and we, with only recounting them, want to receive glory and honor.” In other words: at the end of everything that defines us is what we do. That is the language of our life and our faith. That is the gospel that many will read. Therefore, this matter is so important.
Fidel Aizpurúa Donazar
February 8, 2025
English version translated with AI