A discipleship of service

Good morning, happy Wednesday and blessings.

Shortly before his death, Jesus expressed to a group of his followers and supporters, in John 16: 12-15, that he wanted to tell them many more things, but that they were not yet able to bear (v. 12).

However, the story was not to end there. He promised them (and us) the Spirit of truth (v. 13) to help us continue his way. The Spirit accompanies us and guides us in the truth of God, and when we reach the point of being able to "bear it", it lets us participate in some of the "many things" that remain to be done and that would otherwise surpass us. What does this all mean?

The arrival of the Holy Spirit is for the purpose of being able to strengthen and follow up on the relationship that Jesus has established with us. Jesus is concerned with how to continue this relationship deeply and intimately. But at the same time, he hopes that we can develop this deep and intimate relationship with other people. Outside of this context we will never understand the purpose of the arrival of the Holy Spirit.

The relationship that Christian people have with Jesus can vary greatly from person to person. Just because you have become a new person in Jesus does not necessarily mean that you have a deep and intimate relationship with Him.

For some Christian people, a relationship with Jesus consists of praying to him and going to church on Sunday. They allow Jesus to be a sacrifice for their sins, but the relationship with Him ends there. For others, Jesus is an example to follow, and they do their best to live as he did. But they don't really expect to have a great relationship with Him, and therefore, in fact, they don't. Such relationships with Jesus can, at best, be described as "distant."

The Bible, however, speaks of a deep and intimate relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. He is, after all, a person, not a "theological concept"; not someone who once lived on earth and is now far away, but a person who is alive and can be very close.

This relationship is strengthened when I practice service discipleship. This is because I find Jesus in the faces of other people, those that I love and those that I don't love. With this in mind, how is a church full of disciples who want to serve in the same way that Jesus served? We must recognize that our true teacher is Jesus. Each of us pledges loyalty to him. We willingly sacrifice ourselves for each other. Paul sacrificed his body and time for the Philippians, and they sacrificed their money for him, even sending one of their own to encourage him. (Philippians 2: 25-30; 2 Corinthians 8: 1-5). Now I ask you, in your intimate and deep relationship with Jesus, are you willing to sacrifice your time, talent and money for Jesus? And how about with other people? Can I invest my time, talent, and money with other people? This, my brothers, and sisters, is what we call stewardship, the backbone of the discipleship of service that the Holy Spirit must produce in our lives. This is your homework for today. I must discover; how intimate and deep is my relationship with Jesus? Do I have a healthy relationship with Jesus? I hope it is not a superficial or unhealthy relationship.

Blessings

Fr. Luis +