Who is Jesus?
- Drawn Toward the Lord
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, NLT).
We in the Church use a lot of words to describe Jesus – words like Savior and Lord. What do all the words mean? Why is He so important to us?
The Fall: Jesus is the Savior. But what does He save us from? The bitter fact is that we are fallen - all of us. We were created for an intimate relationship with God, a connectedness with one another, and a wholeness within. Why doesn’t this happen? The cause is simply: human sin – the sin of Adam and our own. On our own, we cannot find our way back to God. God has given us a way, in and through His only Son.
The Person of Jesus: Jesus is the unique and only Savior for our broken world. He is truly human in all aspects but sin. Being sinless, He embodies humanity as it was created to be. Jesus was what Adam, and all humanity that flowed from him, chose not to be.
Jesus is also true God. He is God incarnate. God, who is three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and yet one, sent His Son, who is no less God than the Father, to wrap His divinity around our humanity and restore its true dignity.
The coming together of the eternal Son and the fullness of humanity forms one human person who by what He was and is and does and did is salvation for us.
Salvation
- He stretched out his loving arms on the hard wood of the cross
To be saved is to be restored to our original dignity. In fact, what we gain from Christ’s salvation is even more than we lost in The Fall. Jesus was born to go to the cross. The cross was not an accident. On that cross, Jesus bore the sin of the world - yours and mine included. In His death, forgiveness of sins is made possible, the power of sin is destroyed for all time, and death - the consequences of sin - is no longer the last word. On the cross, Jesus conquers sin and death and we can now live victorious in Him.
In His resurrection, Christ reaches out, grabs us who have seen so much of sin and death, and pulls us up into new and eternal life. What does that life look like? Our alienation from God vanishes as our fragile humanity is embraced deep within by the perfect humanity and divinity of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. We become adopted sons and daughters of the living God. Changed from within, we find ourselves whole and able to break down the alienation we have with others.
In and through Jesus, everything changes for the good. We discover who we are by coming to know who He is. In the Gospel of St. John, Jesus describes Himself and the life we have in Him in the following way: I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)
The Way, The Truth, the Life
- ...and a light onto my path (Psalm 119:105)
Jesus is the Way – Life has been described as a journey, and so it is. We do not journey without purpose and with no ultimate destination. On some level we know that final destination is God and Jesus shows us the way. Indeed He is the way home. Our home is with the Father, our Father. Only in Christ can we find our way home. No one can come to the Father but by me. (John 14:6)
Jesus is the Truth – We live in a world where the whole idea of truth has fallen on hard times. In fact, it has become fashionable to deny the very idea of truth – I have my truth, you have your truth. However, if anything and everything is true, then nothing is true. On some level, each of us knows deep within that there is an ultimate truth. Indeed Jesus tells us, not only does it exist but that He is it. Truth is not just an idea; it is a person. All Jesus was and all that flowed from Him is the truth as nothing else can be. He promised that that truth will be ours as He proclaims in John: You will know the truth and the truth will make you free. (John 8:32)
Jesus is the Life – We want to live. Life is more than taking up space, breathing the air, and being around for 70 or 80 years. We all yearn for a quality of life. Jesus gives us that quality in our relationship with Him. I came that they might have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10) To live is to know Christ’s salvation, to know His Father as our Father, and to be filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit. To live in Christ is to know a life that has no bounds, not now or in eternity.
How Can I Develop My Relationship with Jesus?
- Jesus Knocking at the Door of Your Heart. Will you let Him in?
It all begins with saying “yes” to Jesus and allowing Him to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. We start by acknowledging our own sinfulness and powerlessness and reaching out to Jesus to be our Savior. When we confess our sins, invite Him into our lives, come to the waters of baptism, our relationship with Him has begun. Not so much because of what we have done but for what He has done for us. The moment of salvation is not an end but a beginning of a deep, abiding relationship with the Lord and a victorious life lived in His Name.
How does one sustain such a relationship? All relationships are about communication. Indeed we are called to pour out our hearts in prayer to a God who hears and gives answer. Even more importantly to pray, to sit quietly with the Lord as He speaks to us in that still small voice. (1 Kings 19:12) Prayer is as much about listening as speaking.
Our relationship with God is also sustained through reading, praying, and studying the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament. The Bible is the Word of God for you and me, with a message that is both universal and extremely personal. We are called to the Word daily and our Christian lives wither and die apart from it.
Christ has established Sacraments to communicate the power of His love in very concrete ways. The Lord gives us new life through the waters of Baptism, sustains us with His very self, with the bread and wine – His very body and blood, through Communion. The Lord has selected certain everyday signs to communicate who He is and when we celebrate those Sacraments He is there ministering to us.
Jesus Christ is Alive
- He is risen!
Jesus may have lived 2000 years ago but He is alive today in a way more powerful than when He ministered in Judea and Galilee. Because of His death, resurrection, and ascension, and the gift of the Holy Spirit - given to all believers - He can and does touch the heart of all believers in the most loving, personal way possible.
If you do not know the Lord, all you need do is reach out. If your life is sloppy, disordered, and broken, know that you are not alone. You have lots and lots of company, for that is the condition of all of us without the Lord. However, the love of God in Jesus Christ is bigger than our brokenness and can pierce the greatest fear and hurt. God can and will transform your life, fill you, bring the fullness of salvation – all He needs is your yes. If you have not said “yes” do it now. If you are struggling with your decision or need help, please contact us and know that you are constantly in our prayers.
'He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.' Jesus replied, 'Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.'" (Matthew 16:15-17)
Contact Us
If you would like to know more about Jesus, please contact Fr. Mike at: 518-374-8391 or by email at: FatherMike@nycap.rr.com for more information.
