Joy and Hope for Today and Tomorrow / Ken Ogorek

Jesus is who he says he is, and we are called to be his witnesses of faith

Who is Jesus? And why should I care? An accurate answer to the first question helps us embrace the truth of the second.

Prove it to me!

Jesus isn’t the first person who claims to share divine teaching. And he won’t be the last.

But Jesus takes this claim a quantum leap forward by essentially saying, “I am divine. I am God.” That’s the kind of talk that needs to be backed up with proof of some sort.

Jesus performed dozens—maybe hundreds—of miracles. Nature miracles. Healings. Raising folks from the dead!

But a clever magician can appear to perform miracles. So even though his many miracles were witnessed by thousands of people, Jesus added this: He predicted his own suffering, death and resurrection after three days of being stone cold dead in a tomb. And then he did it!

Jesus keeps his promises

Jesus makes several promises. In between being seen by hundreds of people after rising gloriously and victoriously from the tomb, Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit, to keep his Church free from error in her basic doctrinal and moral teaching.

Note that Jesus clearly establishes a Church. And while it took a while for this acorn of a community to grow into the mighty oak of today’s holy Catholic Church, the Church is God’s gift to us, commissioned to continue the mission and ministry of Jesus until he returns victoriously and gloriously.

Jesus has kept his promise—as he does all of his promises—of blessing the Church with divine guidance in teaching us all that he commands for peace on our earthly pilgrimage and eternal happiness in heaven.

Fullness of truth

God blesses his Church with the fullness of truth. Not because we’re better than other groups. Smarter. Always perfectly behaved.

As God chose the ancient Israelites to help the whole world get to know him—to live in relationship with him—so the Church is commissioned to make disciples of all nations. To witness to the salvation from sin and death that only the risen Lord Jesus makes a reality for those who accept his invitation to discipleship.

We are his witnesses!

Our archdiocesan pastoral plan states, “[W]e seek first to introduce our sisters and brothers to the person of Jesus Christ and to embrace our identity as his missionary disciples through … a confident witness to our faith in him.” An objective within the plan is to “Strengthen evangelization ministry by holding activities that foster confidence among the faithful to witness to their faith in Jesus.”

One great feature of witnessing is that no one can argue with you! Your Christian witness can be as simple as you sharing a brief story—simply—of what a difference living as a disciple of Jesus and a member of his Church makes in your life.

The icing on the cake of every brief witness is an invitation. We invite and encourage folks to start or deepen a relationship with Jesus. Why? Because Jesus is who he says he is. Because Jesus keeps his promises.

Our confident witness to our faith in Jesus flows from a vibrant personal faith. From vibrant personal faith flows vibrant parishes—faith communities fostering confidence among parishioners to make disciples throughout central and southern Indiana. May it be so by God’s grace and mercy!
 

(Ken Ogorek is executive director of the archdiocesan Secretariat for Evangelizing Catechesis. His monthly column explores how the Gospel takes root within our everyday lives and communities, especially through the lens of our archdiocesan pastoral plan, “Go Forth in Joy and Hope as Missionary Disciples.” E-mail him at kogorek@archindy.org.) †