Resolutions are often part of a new year. In a similar vein, this year I am asking for everyone’s participation in renewing the pastoral life of the Archdiocese of Seattle. You will read more about the Partners in the Gospel effort later in this issue.
As we embark upon this moment of ecclesial conversion, it is helpful to recall that when we speak of Church, we are speaking of Jesus Christ. As Pope Benedict XVI said in his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est: “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, [Jesus Christ] which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.”
We just celebrated that moment in salvation history when “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). Jesus Christ is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). Christ’s earthly ministry of proclaiming God’s word with a “new authority,” healing the sick and forgiving sins, culminated on the cross in the ultimate demonstration of his love for us and the Father. Now, risen from the dead, he continues to reveal himself so that we might have life. Before his ascension into heaven, he commanded that his disciples go into the world to continue his mission of making disciples (Matthew 28:16-20).
To successfully renew the Church, we need to be re-evangelized by Christ. For the Church to be what God desires, it is Christ who is to come to life in us! This is why we as members of the Church are called the mystical Body of Christ. Ultimately this work of re-envisioning and renewal is the Lord’s work, but it requires our intentional cooperation.
I pray that each of us may have the grace to recognize that life-changing moment when we encountered the Risen Christ. Let us turn to God’s word to see how this encounter with Christ impacted his first disciples to understand how our encounter changes us.
“The next day John [the Baptist] was there again with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God.’ The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi ... where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come, and you will see.’ So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day” (John 1:35-39).
The amazing detail of this story is that it does not define the place where Jesus stays. The reason is that Jesus abides in the Father. “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me” (John 14:11). When Jesus invites us to follow him, he is asking us to abide in him that we might enjoy the life of God. “Remain in me, as I remain in you” (John 15:4).
This is the life of every disciple. This is how the Risen Christ brings each human person to their fullest self and, in the process, is renewing the whole human family. By our own life in Christ, we give witness to others in a credible and authentic manner, which, in turn, allows them to encounter Christ. This is how the faith is transmitted, and this is crucial to our efforts to renew the life of the Church.
This year, let us resolve to give the priority to Christ, who makes all things new (Revelation 21:5).
Northwest Catholic—February/March 2023