Not of the World!

Saturday, May 24, 2025

Acts 16:1-10; Jn 15:18-21

Today’s Gospel highlights the special calling of Christians who do not belong to the world, though they pass through it. 

Following the invitation of Jesus, the Christian approach to the world remains mixed, as some suggest fleeing it while others advocate fighting it out to establish the love and peace of Christ. 

Jesus clarifies that just because of their discipleship, his disciples will experience the world to be hostile as it remained the same to him. However, if we closely observe, Jesus’ statement that ‘you do not belong to this world’ does not suggest ‘fleeing’ or ‘deserting’ it altogether because in other places he has indicated their responsibility to be ‘the salt and light of the world.’ Hence, Jesus’ statement needs a bit of elaboration. 

In my view, when Jesus says that Christians do not belong to this world, he does not want his disciples to flee it. On the contrary, he insists that they cannot cling to it as if the world is their final destination. It is because Christians have been called to be the change agents, fleeing the world is not an option for them. With no feelings of despair or resignation, the Christian mission is to turn the hostile world into a friendly setting for the Gospel to thrive and flourish.

If fleeing the world is not recommended by Jesus, how does he want his disciples to approach it? By reminding his disciples of their special election, Jesus wants them to act as catalysts of change by sowing the Gospel seeds. In other words, Jesus turns the ‘contrast’ into a mission motive for his disciples. Those who do not belong to the world have the responsibility of transforming it, and this is the purpose of Christian mission. Hence, Jesus wants his disciples to adopt the attitude that we are in it to win it. 

Let us pray that our vocation as Christians may inspire our transformative mission in the world. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar