Who is Jesus to you?

Brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ, what a big joy it is to belong to God! In the presence of the Lord we are strengthened, in his presence we are refreshed, in his presence we are renewed, in his presence we are restored, in his presence we are enriched with all the blessings and graces we need for each day. God is powerful! God is wonderful! God is holy!

“Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ. Thus he chose us in Christ before the world was made to be holy and faultless before him in love, in whom, through his blood, we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins. Such is the richness of the grace which he has showered on us in all wisdom and insight.” (Ephesians 1:3-4;7-8)

You and I were chosen by God, kept apart, separated, bestowed and blessed with every kind of spiritual blessing in Jesus Christ! We are not anything at all, we are not what the world wants us to be, we are not even what we think of ourselves with all our limitations. We are what God sees! 

When God looks at me and you He does not see sin, he does not see misery, he does not see weakness, he does not see our past, he does not see misery, he does not see any evil that could be inside us, he does not know how to see defects, he does not look at what we do, he does not look at our external image (according to 1 Samuel 16:7)... He sees our hearts and what is in us of most pure that we became through our baptism: children of God! 

I want to start this post today with the words of the great apostle of the pagans, Saint Paul: 

“Of which (the Church) I was made a servant with the responsibility towards you that God gave to me, that of completing God's message the message which was a mystery hidden for generations and centuries and has now been revealed to his holy people. It was God's purpose to reveal to them how rich is the glory of this mystery among the gentiles; it is Christ among you, your hope of glory: this is the Christ we are proclaiming, admonishing and instructing everyone in all wisdom, to make everyone perfect in Christ.” (Colossians 1:25-28)

GOD WANTED US TO DISCOVER THE RICHNESS AND THE GLORY OF THE MYSTERY THAT  WAS HIDDEN DURING GENERATIONS! WHAT MYSTERY IS THAT? CHRIST IN US! WE HAVE NO IDEA OF THE DEPTH AND POWER OF THIS WORD!

Today we are having a kind of shorter formation (talking about length) and I want to bring you inside yourself to reflect a little, looking at your history and your life today.

We said that God looks at us and sees our hearts, sees us as his children. Now, on our part, when we look at God, what do we see? Who is God for you? What difference does it make whether or not you are with him in your life? And to get straight into this post main question, let's ask ourselves the question from this post: WHO IS JESUS ​​TO ME?

I chose some images to help us see what we are reflecting concretely. Look at each image and find out what it does provoke to you (and also if it does provoke nothing) and find out where it leads you to. Enjoy it and try to answer this question at the end of this formation if you can! 

“Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.” (Mathew 11:28-30)

He is the one who calls us. He is the one who lightens our burdens. He is the one who offers us a soft yoke and a doctrine with a light weight. He is meek and humble in heart. He is the one who attracts us and calls us to his heart. He is the image of an invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation (as per Colossians 1:15). He is the word of God who became flesh and dwelt among us (as per John 1:14). 

“I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep.” (John 10:11;14-15) 

He is the good shepherd. He is the one who has the courage to expose and lay down his life for his sheep. He is the one who knows us, even though we don't know each other well or don't have much sense of who we really are. He is the one who cares, who looks after us, who protects and who watches over our lives. He is the one who gives us life, the real life. And give us that life in abundance, in fullness (as per John 10:10).

“When Jesus spoke to the people again, he said: I am the light of the world; anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

He is the one who is ready to enlighten every human being who awakens to the life he offers (as per Ephesians 5:14). He is the one who illuminates all things and more than the sun, he shines every day with his grace, especially on those who walk through the valley of the shadow of death, living in a life of darkness, sin and loneliness. He is the true light that comes into the world that illuminates every man (as per John 1:9) and by his light he gives us the power to become children of God (as per John 1:12). He is the light, the heat and the fire that warms our hearts! 

“Jesus replied: Whoever drinks this water will be thirsty again; but no one who drinks the water that I shall give will ever be thirsty again: the water that I shall give will become a spring of water within, welling up for eternal life. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know; for salvation comes from the Jews. But the hour is coming -- indeed is already here -- when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth: that is the kind of worshipper the Father seeks. God is spirit, and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:13-14;22-24)

He is the one who gives us the water of life that will flow into eternal life. It is from his heart that blood and water flows to wash away our sins, to purify us and to give us a new life. He is the one who quenches our thirst and makes this water, which is the Holy Spirit, flow from within those who believe in him (as per John 7:37). He is the giver of the Spirit, together with the Father. He is the one who teaches us the truth of God. He is the truth himself (as per John 8:32). He is the one who teaches us about God the Father properly because he is one with the Father (as per John 10:30). He is the one who teaches us how to worship God.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that bears no fruit he cuts away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes to make it bear even more. You are clean already, by means of the word that I have spoken to you. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:1-3;5)

He is the vine, the tree of life, which gives and transmits life. At its roots we have access to the food that strengthens and edifies us in his grace. He is the source of life and the transmitter of life by the Holy Spirit. He is the head of the Church that makes us its members (as per Colossians 1:18). We are incorporated into this Church, which is its mystical body, through baptism (as per Catechism of the Catholic Church par. 1267).

“As they persisted with their question, he straightened up and said, 'Let the one among you who is guiltless be the first to throw a stone at her.' Jesus again straightened up and said, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' 'No one, sir,' she replied. 'Neither do I condemn you,' said Jesus. 'Go away, and from this moment sin no more.” (John 8:7;10-11)
He is the one who defends us, protects us and is always on the side of those who are weak, poor and devoid in this world. He is the one who never condemns us, who always helps us, who always welcomes us and is always ready to reach out and lift us off the floor, regardless of what we have done or are planning to do. He is the one who will always be with his outstretched hands to us no matter how much people, things, situations and the life we ​​live could preach that we do not deserve it! 

“Jesus answered them: I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever hunger; no one who believes in me will ever thirst. In all truth I tell you, everyone who believes has eternal life. I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.' Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise that person up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.” (John 6:35;47;51;54-55)

He is the bread of life, the living bread descended from heaven, the food of our salvation. He is the one who guarantees us eternal life through his body and his blood, which are food for that eternal life; that we know is the Eucharist. He made himself an offering to the Father for us, becoming food, to be closer to us. He is the Sacrament of love that sustains his Church, holy and Catholic. He is the one who holds and transmits eternal life through the Eucharist, with the Eucharist and in the Eucharist. 

“For this is how God loved the world: he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. For God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but so that through him the world might be saved. No one who believes in him will be judged; but whoever does not believe is judged already, because that person does not believe in the Name of God's only Son.” (John 3:16-18)

He is the savior of the world (as per John 4:42). He is the one who freely gave his life on the cross to save us from death and eternal damnation. He is the one who cleanses our sins with his blood (as per 1 John 1:7). He is the one who carried the weight of our sins, paid for our sins with his own life and enshrined in the cross every condemnation that the devil had against us, expelling the principalities and powers (the fallen angels) and triumphing over them by the cross (as per Colossians 2:13). He is the one who turned curse into a blessing with his death on the cross - because it was considered cursed the one who died nailed to a tree (as per Galatians 3:13) – and he has power to take all evil in our lives transforming it into some kind of good. He is the redeemer of the human race. He is the one who was disfigured to make us the image of the Father. He is the one who heals us with his wounds and frees us from all punishment and imprisonment. He is the one who calls us to a life of freedom (as per Galatians 5:1). 

“Terrified, the women bowed their heads to the ground. But the two said to them, 'Why look among the dead for someone who is alive? He is not here; he has risen. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee: that the Son of man was destined to be handed over into the power of sinful men and be crucified and rise again on the third day.” (Luke 24:5-7)

He is the one who died, went down into hell, made hell a terrible place to the devils by terrifying them with his presence. But death could not hold him, the stone of the tomb could not hold him; the power of God raised him up on the third day to say that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are one and reign forever. He is the one who has the name over all names, to whom every knee bends in heaven, on earth and in hell (as per Philippians 2:9). He is the resurrection and the life. He is the one who ascended to heaven with his glorious and risen body, with the marks of his passion, with authority and power. He is the one who opened paradise for us. He is the one who sustains the world with the power of his mercy. He is the one who is preparing a home for us in the Father's house in heaven and will return to judge and free us from this world of death and take us with him into eternity (as per John 14:2). 

“With so many witnesses in a great cloud all around us, we too, then, should throw off everything that weighs us down and the sin that clings so closely, and with perseverance keep running in the race which lies ahead of us. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection: for the sake of the joy which lay ahead of him, he endured the cross, disregarding the shame of it, and has taken his seat at the right of God's throne. Think of the way he persevered against such opposition from sinners and then you will not lose heart and come to grief.” (Hebrews 12:1-3)

He is the Son of God, God himself incarnate. He is the author and finisher of our faith, that means it is he who is the reason for faith, who gives us the gift of faith, who initiates us in the life of faith; he is the one who feeds our faith; and he is the consumer, the destiny and the one who gives strength to live the faith until the last consequences. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. ​​He is the Son of David. He is the Son of man. He is the King of kings. He is the Lord of lords. He is the God of gods. He is the Master of masters. He is Almighty, glorious, wonderful, faithful, eternal, unique, victorious, sovereign, majestic... There are not enough words to describe him. He is everything!

“Jesus Christ is the same today as he was yesterday and as he will be forever. Do not be led astray by all sorts of strange doctrines.” (Hebrews 13:8-9)

He is the truth that sets us free (as per John 8:32) and against this truth we have no power (as per 2 Corinthians 13:8). He is the one who does never change. He is the one who is always by our side, and even if we do not recognize him, he is always helping us in the most difficult moments. He is the most certain friend of uncertain times. He is my best friend! Jesus is the one who does not give up on us even when we give up on life. He believes in you and me. Did you already give up on following him? Do you really believe in him? 

When he asked his disciples, who was he for them, Peter is the one who did stand and declared in a strong voice: YOU ARE THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD ALIVE!

If Jesus asked you today, "Who am I to you?" - What would you answer? Do not think! Answer with your spontaneous prayer at this moment… 

May God bless us and give us the grace to discover who Jesus is in our lives.

*Adapted from Brazilian Portuguese from my other blog: www.vounessadirecao.blogspot.com