Thursday, April 20, 2017

Who Do You Say I Am?



Today is a joyous day.  Today we celebrate the rising of Jesus Christ from the dead.  Today we shout Alleluia!   Today after Mass we may return to those things we gave up for Lent.  We hunt for eggs with our children.  We join them in joyful candy tasting.  And for a time we forget about Lent.
            We should be joyous!  Today He is Risen!  And after today?  Do we forget our journey?  Do we forget who He is and what we have learned about ourselves, about Him?  I hope not.  Jesus asks us, “Who do you say that I am?”  Our answer to that question will determine who we are and who we will become.   
            To be a Christian is to come from Christ, to belong to Christ, to the anointed one of God, to whom God granted Kingship and Priesthood.  It means belonging to Him whom God himself anointed-not with material oil, but with the One whom the oil represents: with His Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament anointing was an act of consecration, of setting man apart.  But to be anointed was not just to be set apart, but to be given the power and ability to perform the task given by God.
            We have been anointed at Baptism.  We are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people” in order that through all those works which are those of the Christian we may offer spiritual sacrifices and proclaim the power of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.
            Consider what this means.  At Baptism we were anointed; we were set apart; we were given the power and ability to perform the task given by God.  What power, what ability were you given?  What do you do well?  Are you using the gifts given by God, for God?
            We aren’t ministerial priests, and yet as non-ordained faithful we join in the offering of the Eucharist.  We receive the sacraments; we pray; we give thanks; we witness to others by our holy lives; we deny ourselves; we are active in charity.  We use the gifts of God to call others out of darkness into His marvelous light, as we were called into light.
            Who we say He is, determines our character, our life style, our holiness.  If Jesus is truly the Son of God come down to humanity to suffer and die and rise for humanity’s salvation, then shouldn’t we follow His footsteps?  We were set apart, have we chosen to be one with the world, or one with God?           kvs

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