Jesus, an example of how we should live

God morning, happy Saturday, and blessings.
 
I remind you that tomorrow Sunday we will have masses in English & ASL ‪at 10:00 am ‬and in Spanish & ASL ‪at 12:00 pm‬. Both will be broadcast live on Facebook. Connect: https://m.facebook.com/HolyroodSCruz/.
 
In today’s Gospel, John 14: 7-14, one verse catches my eye (verse 9); Jesus answered: "Don’t you know me, Philip…?  And from here a question arises: How well do you know Jesus?
There is only one way I can really get to know Jesus: by living the same life that He did. That means that I have the same goal that He did – a preferential option for those who are being oppressed and excluded in our society so that the gospel of salvific liberation is presented to them.
 
To know Jesus is to live in a persistent moral and social accusation against any unjust and wicked system, as a form of structural sin, and this includes capitalism and the church as an institution when betrays the people.

For this reason to know Jesus is to let his solidarity shine in our lives to bring social emancipation. In particular fighting against idolatry (this is creating a false image of God) the number one enemy of religion, not atheism, because it presents us with new idols for us to worship: consumerism, wealth, power, national security , the state, the armies, heterosexism, sexism, racism, ethnocentrism, selfishness, etc.

To know Jesus is to be able to understand that salvation is far beyond the individual and the competitive, but rather a collective and collaborative social Gospel where I discover that my salvific liberation is interrelated with that of my brothers and sisters.

And to know Jesus is to be able to understand that his message was very clear about being able to bring heaven to earth and develop a spirituality with social, political and economic dimensions. I mean, let's be happy here on earth.
 
Knowing Jesus means having a relationship with Him. A Christian does not only know about Christ, but a Christian also knows Christ personally. To know Jesus personally means to get to know Him as you would a friend. In a friendship you spend time with the other person, and you have vulnerable conversations. Talking regularly is an important part of a relationship. To know Jesus is not just to read about Him educationally, but also to spend time understanding who He is.
 
These are the two questions with which I invite you to meditate today: Do I really know Jesus? And, do my works always reveal Jesus to others?
 
Blessings
 
Fr. Luis+