Sr. Margarita Bareikaitë
What is Christianity?
Sr. Margarita Bareikaitë belongs to the order of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Lithuanian order in Putnam, Connecticut. She is also the Chairperson of the Religious Affairs Council for the Lithuanian American Community, Inc.
A renowned historian, Adolph von Harnack, was asked to give a course open to everyone at the University. The title he chose for the course was: “What is Christianity?”
He began by reviewing several approaches to the question. Some students would define Christianity as a set of beliefs, others as a pattern of ethics or behavior. Still others would see it in the way Christians worship -- in other words, their liturgy.
Harnack suggested that the heart of Christianity lies in the person of Jesus and in His message. Jesus preached the coming of God’s kingdom: He proclaimed the fatherhood of God and the infinite value of the human soul. When you recognize that God is a loving father, said Harnack, and not a stern judge, then His kingdom is established in our heart. By knowing God as the loving father of everyone, even the most vicious person, then you recognize the infinite value of the human person. Seeing all this you will attempt to live your life under the law of love.
St. Paul tells us that Jesus is the head of His body, the church..."making peace by the blood of the cross” (Col.3: 13-20). Jesus is the heart of Christianity. The Risen Christ has gathered us all around Him and bonded us to Himself as one body of which He is the head. He presents us to His Father as His beloved brothers and sisters. There, He asks the Father to accept us and love us as He does His only Son-Jesus, because the Son of God willingly died for us all. It is a plea that the Father cannot refuse.