We shall discuss in the coming Posts the following points that play very essential roles in the proclamation of the Gospel.
Witnessing to Jesus Christ; Glorification of God the Father; Living in the power of the Spirit.
A disciple of Jesus Christ is one who would show forth the three aspects of spiritual life in one's life automatically. It means that such a person does not have to strive hard to exhibit them before others; rather, they will show forth themselves like the color, scent and beauty of a flower.
Witnessing to Jesus Christ:
Witnessing is primarily by our life and not by words. However, we are expected to proclaim the Gospel by word of mouth also. A note of caution should be added here immediately that a lot of preaching the Word of God may not measure up to the standards set by God Himself. Examples may be cited not only from the history of the Church, but also from the uttering of some of the present day preachers of the Word of God. The first point to remember here is that no one is a preacher unless he or she is sent forth by God Himself (See Romans, 10: 15). The Prophets and Apostles and their successors are such preachers who should themselves make sure that they are preaching the true Word of God. This verification can be done if the preachers themselves practice what they preach by witnessing to the message through their lives. Otherwise, the people would have to be advised to "...do what they tell you, pay attention to their words. But do not follow their practice; for they say one thing and do another" (Matthew, 23: 3). All the baptized are called to bear witness to Jesus Christ through their lives thereby sharing in the royal priesthood of Christ (See 1 Peter, 2: 5-10). Those who are thus being built into a spiritual temple may be called upon to proclaim the Gospel by preaching also.
Witnessing to the Truth: The Gospel Proclamation should essentially be one of witnessing to the truth. Jesus himself was born into the world in order to bear witness to the truth (See John, 18: 37). The occasion was the trial of Jesus by Pilate who was taken aback by the announcement of Jesus that all those who were not deaf to truth listened to his voice. Pilate saved himself from embarrassment by asking the most important question of his life "What is truth?" and going out to the Jews without waiting for a reply (See John, 18: 38). Jesus was made to stand before Pilate, the Roman Governor of Judea, being accused of making himself the King of the Jews. On being interrogated by Pilate about this charge, Jesus connected his kingdom with truth. This was a claim nobody would be interested in to contest, as nobody wanted to bear witness to the truth and die for the same. Everyone would be ready to come forward to become a king of this world in order to lord it over others. Although Jesus was not given a chance by Pilate to answer the question "What is truth?" the answer was given by his very life and death. We should rather say that the Evangelist of the fourth Gospel removed Pilate from the scene, as he would not have correctly understood it if Jesus answered by words what essentially was expressed by his life and death.
Jesus as the light of the world expresses the same idea where the honest man comes to the light (See John, 3: 19-21). Our duty to proclaim the Gospel is the same as our obligation to be the light of the world. True light attracts and does not have to go in search of those it wants to illuminate and empower.True light stands like a bulwark of truth by which everyone is judged. This is how we would judge the world along with Jesus Christ , if only we become light of the world with him. Although Jesus was made to stand before the High Priest and Pilate, he was the true judge passing judgment on them by his very presence. This is what the disciples of Jesus have to do in order to proclaim the Gospel. He or she should be uncompromising in upholding truth and justice irrespective of the loss that might be incurred as a result of the same. In fact, we should rejoice when we are made to suffer ignominy, face loss of whatever is dear to us if we stand for a genuine cause. Let us not delude ourselves thinking that we are religious and spiritual, if we conveniently close our eyes to injustice and untruth leaving those who are affected by our apathy to fend for themselves. Let us stand up and proclaim the Gospel by standing for justice and truth, without counting the costs involved.
What is truth? We have seen above that bearing witness to the truth is the same as proclaiming the Gospel. Following the lead of Pilate, the immediate question that springs to our mind is "What is truth?". This question is so fundamental that our whole understanding of reality depends on the kind of answer given to this question. Jesus tells Pilate that he was born into this world in order to bear witness to the truth (See John, 18: 37). Therefore, truth is that to which Jesus bore witness. What did Jesus bear witness to? The Gospel tells us that Jesus bore witness to God, his Father. For Jesus, therefore, God is the ultimate reality and He is Truth itself. Being God's Son, Jesus is the fullest expression of God on earth and is His perfect image. Both the Father and the Son are united in the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus we see that the ultimate foundation of reality is unity in diversity, realized in the mystery of the Holy Trinity. The whole universe, including the humans, is created by God under the master plan of unity in diversity. The love of God the Father, the grace of the only begotten Son and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit underlies the proclamation of the Gospel by Jesus Christ. This fundamental truth is proclaimed by Jesus through his life, death and resurrection more than by words spoken or written. In fact, the words of proclamation of the truth of the Gospel should be supported and interpreted by what Jesus did with his life and death. They were:
a) The miracles performed by Jesus were manifestations of the glory of God, understood as signs by the Gospel of John. People testified that nothing of the sort was seen in Israel till then.
b) Even the words used by Jesus were so attractive and captivating that people agreed that they had never heard anything similar from anybody else.
c) Jesus lived, died and was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit who was active throughout his life.
These 3 points bring out in sharp relief the mystery of the Holy Trinity in action through the glory of God the Father, the Word of God the Son and the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the truth Jesus wanted Pilate to listen to. However, he was unable to do so as his ears were clogged with desire for power and position, which he had managed to obtain through the good offices of his friend and Roman Senator Sejanus who was himself a friend of Emperor Tiberius. We are ourselves handicapped by our own weaknesses and made impotent in listening to the voice of Truth constantly reverberating around our seemingly open ears. We must check and see whether our inner and spiritual ears are open to Truth irrespective of our preferences, likes and dislikes. What is that idol that rules over our hearts preventing the reign of the Kingdom of God in us? The Truth will liberate us and we shall be completely free enjoying the foretaste of heaven already on this earth. For, Truth is that ultimate reality in virtue of which things are as they are and are impervious to the manipulations of our imagination of how things should be. The truth gets in touch with reality and liberates us from our prejudices. If we are unable to enjoy the freedom of the sons and daughters of God, Truth has not taken hold of us and that demands a complete overhaul of our entire life. (To be Contd).
Witnessing to Jesus Christ; Glorification of God the Father; Living in the power of the Spirit.
A disciple of Jesus Christ is one who would show forth the three aspects of spiritual life in one's life automatically. It means that such a person does not have to strive hard to exhibit them before others; rather, they will show forth themselves like the color, scent and beauty of a flower.
Witnessing to Jesus Christ:
Witnessing is primarily by our life and not by words. However, we are expected to proclaim the Gospel by word of mouth also. A note of caution should be added here immediately that a lot of preaching the Word of God may not measure up to the standards set by God Himself. Examples may be cited not only from the history of the Church, but also from the uttering of some of the present day preachers of the Word of God. The first point to remember here is that no one is a preacher unless he or she is sent forth by God Himself (See Romans, 10: 15). The Prophets and Apostles and their successors are such preachers who should themselves make sure that they are preaching the true Word of God. This verification can be done if the preachers themselves practice what they preach by witnessing to the message through their lives. Otherwise, the people would have to be advised to "...do what they tell you, pay attention to their words. But do not follow their practice; for they say one thing and do another" (Matthew, 23: 3). All the baptized are called to bear witness to Jesus Christ through their lives thereby sharing in the royal priesthood of Christ (See 1 Peter, 2: 5-10). Those who are thus being built into a spiritual temple may be called upon to proclaim the Gospel by preaching also.
Witnessing to the Truth: The Gospel Proclamation should essentially be one of witnessing to the truth. Jesus himself was born into the world in order to bear witness to the truth (See John, 18: 37). The occasion was the trial of Jesus by Pilate who was taken aback by the announcement of Jesus that all those who were not deaf to truth listened to his voice. Pilate saved himself from embarrassment by asking the most important question of his life "What is truth?" and going out to the Jews without waiting for a reply (See John, 18: 38). Jesus was made to stand before Pilate, the Roman Governor of Judea, being accused of making himself the King of the Jews. On being interrogated by Pilate about this charge, Jesus connected his kingdom with truth. This was a claim nobody would be interested in to contest, as nobody wanted to bear witness to the truth and die for the same. Everyone would be ready to come forward to become a king of this world in order to lord it over others. Although Jesus was not given a chance by Pilate to answer the question "What is truth?" the answer was given by his very life and death. We should rather say that the Evangelist of the fourth Gospel removed Pilate from the scene, as he would not have correctly understood it if Jesus answered by words what essentially was expressed by his life and death.
Jesus as the light of the world expresses the same idea where the honest man comes to the light (See John, 3: 19-21). Our duty to proclaim the Gospel is the same as our obligation to be the light of the world. True light attracts and does not have to go in search of those it wants to illuminate and empower.True light stands like a bulwark of truth by which everyone is judged. This is how we would judge the world along with Jesus Christ , if only we become light of the world with him. Although Jesus was made to stand before the High Priest and Pilate, he was the true judge passing judgment on them by his very presence. This is what the disciples of Jesus have to do in order to proclaim the Gospel. He or she should be uncompromising in upholding truth and justice irrespective of the loss that might be incurred as a result of the same. In fact, we should rejoice when we are made to suffer ignominy, face loss of whatever is dear to us if we stand for a genuine cause. Let us not delude ourselves thinking that we are religious and spiritual, if we conveniently close our eyes to injustice and untruth leaving those who are affected by our apathy to fend for themselves. Let us stand up and proclaim the Gospel by standing for justice and truth, without counting the costs involved.
What is truth? We have seen above that bearing witness to the truth is the same as proclaiming the Gospel. Following the lead of Pilate, the immediate question that springs to our mind is "What is truth?". This question is so fundamental that our whole understanding of reality depends on the kind of answer given to this question. Jesus tells Pilate that he was born into this world in order to bear witness to the truth (See John, 18: 37). Therefore, truth is that to which Jesus bore witness. What did Jesus bear witness to? The Gospel tells us that Jesus bore witness to God, his Father. For Jesus, therefore, God is the ultimate reality and He is Truth itself. Being God's Son, Jesus is the fullest expression of God on earth and is His perfect image. Both the Father and the Son are united in the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus we see that the ultimate foundation of reality is unity in diversity, realized in the mystery of the Holy Trinity. The whole universe, including the humans, is created by God under the master plan of unity in diversity. The love of God the Father, the grace of the only begotten Son and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit underlies the proclamation of the Gospel by Jesus Christ. This fundamental truth is proclaimed by Jesus through his life, death and resurrection more than by words spoken or written. In fact, the words of proclamation of the truth of the Gospel should be supported and interpreted by what Jesus did with his life and death. They were:
a) The miracles performed by Jesus were manifestations of the glory of God, understood as signs by the Gospel of John. People testified that nothing of the sort was seen in Israel till then.
b) Even the words used by Jesus were so attractive and captivating that people agreed that they had never heard anything similar from anybody else.
c) Jesus lived, died and was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit who was active throughout his life.
These 3 points bring out in sharp relief the mystery of the Holy Trinity in action through the glory of God the Father, the Word of God the Son and the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the truth Jesus wanted Pilate to listen to. However, he was unable to do so as his ears were clogged with desire for power and position, which he had managed to obtain through the good offices of his friend and Roman Senator Sejanus who was himself a friend of Emperor Tiberius. We are ourselves handicapped by our own weaknesses and made impotent in listening to the voice of Truth constantly reverberating around our seemingly open ears. We must check and see whether our inner and spiritual ears are open to Truth irrespective of our preferences, likes and dislikes. What is that idol that rules over our hearts preventing the reign of the Kingdom of God in us? The Truth will liberate us and we shall be completely free enjoying the foretaste of heaven already on this earth. For, Truth is that ultimate reality in virtue of which things are as they are and are impervious to the manipulations of our imagination of how things should be. The truth gets in touch with reality and liberates us from our prejudices. If we are unable to enjoy the freedom of the sons and daughters of God, Truth has not taken hold of us and that demands a complete overhaul of our entire life. (To be Contd).
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