The Spirit of Jesus is not the exclusive property of one group or another. The Spirit works wherever she wills and manifests in the many good deeds done by people who may not belong to our group. Indeed, they may not even be believers.
Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner (1904-1984) said that all people who sincerely seek goodness and truth and strive to follow their own moral truths can
respond positively to God’s grace. In other words, anyone who lives a life of love and goodness, guided by the moral teachings found in Christianity, even if they don’t consciously identify with it, is implicitly united with Christ and can be saved through him. This implies that non-Christians can receive God’s grace and attain salvation. He termed these “anonymous Christians”.
Although Rahner’s theological perspective was somewhat controversial and has been critiqued, his point is
that God can and will act through people we might think are not of our group or denomination.
What Jesus says is a great challenge and also offers us great freedom. In the end, it is not up to us but to God, who has a perspective much broader than ours or our faith community’s (thank God!)
We should be cautious when tempted to think we have exclusive insight and ownership of God. The God of surprises works in places and
through people that we may never have imagined God working through!
How has God surprised you by working through a situation or person you may never have expected God to? What, as you reflect on the Spirit of God moving wherever she wills, challenges you or, perhaps, disturbs you?
Reflections by Russell Pollitt SJ
