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Teach and admonish one another

(Col 3:16)

           Some of our brothers and sisters have asked me why we do not regularly invite well-known evangelists or priests to give lectures or teachings, or to give talks during our Christian Life Programs or Marriage Enrichment Retreats. They wonder why we ourselves give the CLP talks and teachings. In their mind, we are untrained and ill prepared to do these things. They would cite as examples other Christian communities who invite well-known priests and preachers on a regular basis to deliver talks, conduct retreats and provide teachings.

           We can, of course, invite well-known priests and preachers to give talks, provide teachings and conduct retreats. This is not disallowed. In fact, if you know a priest or preacher who is willing and available to give some teachings to the community, you may suggest to any of the elders to invite him.

   However, listening to the teachings and lectures of well-known priests and preachers is not the main way we, as a community, have chosen to grow in faith. It may be one way, but it is not the main or principal way. Instead, we have chosen to follow the admonition of St. Paul in Col 3:16: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing praise, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.

           Thus in Couples for Christ, we “let the word of Christ dwell in us richly” through our covenant of daily reading of the Scriptures. We are also encouraged to read one Christian book a month. During the household meetings, we discuss passages from the Bible and share on the goodness of the Lord.

   But most importantly, we “teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in our hearts we sing praise, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.” This is not, of course, the only way to grow in faith and love of the Lord. And for other Christian communities, they may consider this to be not the best way for them. But for us in the community of Couples for Christ, the way of St. Paul is what we have chosen under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And because the Holy Spirit has guided the elders of the community in making this choice, we know that for us, this is the best way.

           Therefore in our community, we teach each other, we encourage each other, we admonish each other, we relate the miracles in our lives to each other, and we share to each other the way God has worked and is working in our daily lives. And then we sing praises, hymns and spiritual songs to the Lord with grateful hearts and with hands lifted up as a sign of our offering of ourselves to God in his throne in heaven.

           Since 1993, when we had our first Christian Life Program in English for the expatriate community in Jakarta, I have seen how a number of our brothers and sisters have grown in their personal relationship with the Lord and how they have become effective and powerful speakers, teaching and admonishing other brothers and sisters in all wisdom. While before they were reluctant and nervous witnesses of the word of God, today they are eager and courageous proclaimers of the good news. From the way they speak now, I can tell that they have been faithful in their daily reading of the Scriptures. And from what they share, I can feel how powerfully the Lord has acted in their lives.

           My brothers and sisters, in Couples for Christ, we build each other up spiritually through our work of evangelization. We grow as we serve during the Christian Life Programs and study to prepare for the talks. We become more aware of the actions of the Holy Spirit in our lives as we reflect to prepare for the personal sharing that we incorporate in these talks. We mature as Christians as we observe how others are touched and transformed by the action of the Holy Spirit through our spoken words.

           In Couples for Christ, we believe in the words of Pope Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi: The Holy Spirit is the soul of the church and it is by the help of the Holy Spirit that she is multiplied … The techniques of evangelization are valuable, but even though they be perfect, they cannot dispense with the secret action of the Holy Spirit. The most careful preparation by a preacher will be of no avail without Him and no discourse will be capable of moving men’s hearts unless it is inspired by Him…It is He who moves the preacher to preach and prepares the souls of men to receive and understand the word of salvation. Conscious of these reassuring words, we teach and admonish one another confident that the Holy Spirit is working powerfully in the community.

           In Couples for Christ, we are challenged by the words of Pope John Paul II in his Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente: The first evangelization took place above all in the region of the Mediterranean. In the course of the first millennium, missions setting out from Rome and Constantinople brought Christianity to the whole continent of Europe. At the same time they made their way to the heart of Asia …With the fall of the great anti-Christian systems in Europe, first of Nazism and then of Communism, there is urgent need to bring once more the liberating message of the Gospel to the men and women of Europe. Europe brought the Gospel to Asia, and now God is calling the people of Asia “to bring once more the liberating message of the Gospel to the men and women of Europe.”

           Evangelization is our mission in Couples for Christ. Because of the extreme urgency and great magnitude of this task, we cannot rely solely on a few specially gifted priests and preachers to proclaim the word of God. We have also to do it ourselves. This is God’s command as St. Peter teaches us: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Pt 2:9).

           By virtue of our baptism as Christians, reinforced by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit during our confirmation and further strengthened when we received the power of the Holy Spirit when we were prayed over during the Christian Life Program, we have become God’s own people, a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. Just as the chosen people, the Israelites, were freed from their slavery and bondage in Egypt, we, the chosen people of the new covenant, have been freed from the slavery and bondage of sin.

   Since God has called us out of darkness into the marvelous light of Jesus, God has given us a mission: Proclaim God’s mighty acts! We are therefore asked to proclaim God’s mighty actions in our daily lives. We are asked to share the miracles that happen in our lives. We are asked to relate the powerful actions of the Holy Spirit in ourselves, in our families, and in our community. And with these actions, we evangelize. With these deeds, we teach and admonish one another.

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