The new covenant
As we come closer to the blessed days, the readings invite us to enter God's heart and renew within us the covenant we have made with Him.
It is this context that I recall the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI saying, "By now you know that to be a Christian is a minority." By this he means that only a few would travel along the road of righteousness. Choose God!
The new covenant now in Jesus would be more intense and lived out. It would not simply be practiced externally, but people would know it in the level of the heart. Check our hearts if it resonates with God's very own heart.
Secondly, this covenant is sealed in the self-offering and death of Jesus and he invites us to do the same. I recall in the diocesan assembly of Pasig, Bishop Mylo Vergara reminds the audience, "In discernment, if you feel you don't want to do something because it would demand sacrifice on your part, most probably, it is God's will and is therefore authentic." How true! We want to take the comfortable route, but we end up losing our very own lives and that of our children. That is why the real Christians are a minority unless we take the road Jesus took.
Thirdly, when Jesus is lifted up, "he shall draw all people to himself." This is still an open-ended invitation for us to accept. Follow Christ's path. Seek not just to be good. But aim to be who we really are - Christians. John says, "By this everyone shall know you are my disciples - in your love for one another."
As we come closer to the blessed days, the readings invite us to enter God's heart and renew within us the covenant we have made with Him.
It is this context that I recall the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI saying, "By now you know that to be a Christian is a minority." By this he means that only a few would travel along the road of righteousness. Choose God!
The new covenant now in Jesus would be more intense and lived out. It would not simply be practiced externally, but people would know it in the level of the heart. Check our hearts if it resonates with God's very own heart.
Secondly, this covenant is sealed in the self-offering and death of Jesus and he invites us to do the same. I recall in the diocesan assembly of Pasig, Bishop Mylo Vergara reminds the audience, "In discernment, if you feel you don't want to do something because it would demand sacrifice on your part, most probably, it is God's will and is therefore authentic." How true! We want to take the comfortable route, but we end up losing our very own lives and that of our children. That is why the real Christians are a minority unless we take the road Jesus took.
Thirdly, when Jesus is lifted up, "he shall draw all people to himself." This is still an open-ended invitation for us to accept. Follow Christ's path. Seek not just to be good. But aim to be who we really are - Christians. John says, "By this everyone shall know you are my disciples - in your love for one another."
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