We are called to be in the world not on some ideal, antiseptic island. Over the centuries, some Christians felt that the world was so corrupt that the only solution was to flee into the desert to leave everything behind. That was never a perfect solution because the influence of the world was also inside them. So the spiritual struggle of the soul continued on for them even in the desert.
We are called to follow Jesus not somewhere beyond the stars or only in our heart but in the world, to be faithful in an unfaithful world. We are not to be of the world.
In our world today much of our programming on television and in our culture is morally corrupt. Marriage, pregnancy, religion, sexuality, the elderly, minorities and every virtue is seen as fair game for ridicule. Our moral immune system is being degraded, broken down slowly through ridicule and humour. We are becoming morally desensitised, spiritually neutered, not all at once but bit by bit.
But are called to be in the world, to be light and salt. We exercise our Christian mission when we engage in conversation with fellow workers, when we are concerned about morality in the media, when we work to defend the sanctity of life, when we work to heal divisions in our society, when we stand for what is fair, when we promote the work of the Church in reaching out to the poor. The greatest, most difficult, most loving service we can give to this troubled, anxious and divided world of ours is to be candidly, courageously, and unmistakeably Christian.: in the world but not of the world but for the world.