On Ash Wednesday, we read St. Paul’s words to the Christians in Corinth: “We are ambassadors of Christ.” This exhortation reminds us that St. Paul lived a life of profound service and was committed to his religious values and beliefs and summons us, alongside the Corinthian Christians, to the same commitment.
The apostle Paul describes himself as a man of deep faith and loyal to the traditions that formed him. Earlier in the New Testament, when Paul is convinced that Jesus and his followers are a threat to the Jewish faith and tradition, he appoints himself, with the support of religious authorities in Jerusalem, as a ruthless envoy who seeks to restore conformity and orthodoxy through the threat of imprisonment and death. He states that he is a far more ardent defender of his ancestors’ traditions than his peers are.
However, after experiencing a divine revelation, he becomes convinced of God’s presence in the world through Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:16). From this time on, he is consistently reluctant to believe anything that stands in the way of his conviction about of God’s plan for humanity through Jesus Christ (Gal. 2:14). He continually takes personal risks, serving as an envoy of God’s self-revelation in Jesus Christ among unwilling listeners and fierce opposition (Acts 17:32; 2 Cor. 11:23–28). It is in this context of his personal commitment to the gospel message that he enjoins the Corinthians to remember that they are envoys of Christ.
The same conviction that engendered St. Paul’s life of commitment to his beliefs also inspired others such as St. Óscar Romero, who dedicated his episcopal ministry to advocacy on behalf of the poor and oppressed. St. Romero passionately spoke up for the dignity and nobility of the people of El Salvador, advocating for their flourishing despite the inhumane policies of the ruling class. His words and actions, his work as an envoy of human dignity, was inspired by his beliefs and by the gospel message of Jesus Christ. His exemplary ministry of advocacy and leadership continues to inspire others today.
Similarly, Martin Luther King Jr. walked arm-in-arm with others against racial injustice and inhumane social conditions that resulted from the pervasive denigration of Black Americans’ humanity. He firmly believed in the dignity of every child of God, and this religious convictions led him to protest against racial injustices and discrimination.
The same conviction inspired St. Mother Teresa to dedicate herself promoting the dignity of Indians living on the edges of society. Mother Teresa’s experience of God inspired her to share God’s compassion and love with her neighbor so that they might experience God’s presence, especially those living on the fringes of society.
Like St. Paul, St. Óscar Romero, Martin Luther King Jr., and St. Mother Teresa, there are many people today who publicly champion change because of their conviction about the nobility of the human person. These people are making an impactful difference in the lives of others. Like the Good Samaritan, they selflessly put others’ well-being ahead of their own needs, providing help and support because of their sheer belief in our common humanity (Luke 10:33–35).
These advocates are putting into practice their Christian faith by participating in God’s saving action through Christ. Their baptism incentivizes them to dedicate themselves to the ministry of Christ and to make Christ present in the world through noble and good deeds (Gal. 3:27; Phil. 2:3-5). By becoming an ambassador of Christ, therefore, every believer represents God’s reconciliatory plan for the world.
Our baptism makes us members of God’s household and thus, envoys of the gospel (Eph. 2:9). The consciousness that God is making an appeal through believers, as the second reading during today’s Ash Wednesday liturgy reveals, imbues us with the knowledge that we too are emissaries of God’s plan for humanity (2 Cor. 5:20). By inviting every believer to become one with Christ, God’s appeal for the world’s renewal becomes an invitation to replicate Christ’s life in our own lives.
For this reason, every believer ought to be intentional about their activity as an ambassador of Christ. The invitation to proclaim the reign of God corresponds to living that out in our everyday lives (c.f. Gal. 5:22). Mirroring Christ’s presence in the world is inexorably linked to a dedication to work toward reconciling the world with God.
The message of reconciliation entrusted to believers, ambassadors of Christ, finds concrete meaning during the season of Lent. During this time, the church commemorates Christ’s singular act that delivered humanity from death so we could be fully reconciled with God (Rom. 5:8–11).
At the beginning of his earthly ministry, Jesus invited his followers to undergo metanoia and experience reconciliation with God and one another (Mark 1:15). Jesus continued this invitation when he announced his commitment to bring good news to the poor and freedom to captives, anyone under oppression, and those suffering from a physical, emotional or mental disability (Luke 4:18).
Christ carried his ministry of reconciliation to the home of a wealthy outcast, Zacchaeus, who received public recognition that he was a child of Abraham, just as everyone else is (Luke 19:9). Jesus restored the Gerasene demoniac, preventing him from living a lonely and dangerous life at the edges of society (Mark 5:19–20). Jesus welcomed children, giving them a sense of belonging, dignity, and recognition (Mark 10:13–16). Jesus’ ministry included both men and women; women took on significant roles as envoys and benefactors (Luke 8:1–3). In fact, Mary of Magdala was a dedicated follower of Jesus, and she is the envoy of the good news of Jesus’ resurrection to the world (John 20:17–18).
During Lent, our liturgical participation to the ministry of Christ reconciles us with God. Our abstinence and spiritual exercises inspire us to acts of solidarity, especially with the poor and vulnerable. Our Lenten observances challenge us to “live in solidarity and fraternity” with others by building bridges across humanity in recognition of our shared “infinite and transcendent dignity,” as Pope Francis said in his letter to the U.S. Bishops on February 10, 2025.
One way we do this is through the Lenten Rice Bowl campaign, which supports Catholic Refugee Services. CRS encourages families to fast during Lent and to donate the amount of money they saved to their Rice Bowl: The money goes to programs that help people around the world access safe and nutritious food. In addition, a portion of the Rice Bowl funds are sent back to each individual diocese to support local anti-hunger efforts.
This campaign is even more important this year, since much of CRS’s funding has been cut or frozen due to President Donald Trump’s executive order suspending U.S. Agency for International Development funding on January 20.
However, the Rice Bowl exercise would be perfunctory at best without a corresponding commitment to contribute to meaningful and lasting change in the world. A meaningful Lenten practice should connect us with one another’s daily realities while working toward the collective advancement of all humanity. For this to happen, our Rice Bowl exercises should make us feel part of the human family, closer to one another, instead of distant and disconnected from one another’s daily realities.
The motivation for participating in the Lenten Rice Bowl is to be in solidarity with our siblings subjected to or fleeing from any situation of inhumanity. Each penny we put in our Rice Bowl this Lent should incite in our imagination the faces of people torn from a decent and comfortable life by war and violence. It should connect us with the many children whose only experience of home is in a refugee camp. The people whose livelihoods have been decimated by environmental disasters and who have consequently been forced to leave their homelands should feel our connection to them through the Rice Bowl.
The Rice Bowl should also stir in our imaginations victims of corporate greed—people whose experiences of employment and labor contradicts the dignity of labor. Our siblings fleeing social unrest and seeking economic opportunities and stability plea for us to see their vulnerable situations each time we drop a coin into our Rice Bowl this Lent.
Our Rice Bowl commitment should not be an exercise that removes us from the sufferings and pain of those who experience gender and racial violence that diminishes their human dignity, but rather an exercise that provokes us towards action for change and transformation for all. Let us remember that the biblical meaning of the exhortation “whatever you do to the least of your brothers and sisters you do it onto me” (Matt 25:40). May it find concrete meaning in our activities as ambassadors of Christ this Lenten season.
Image: Unsplash/Jocelyn Morales
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