Who do you really say Jesus is?

Good News ReflectionFriday of the 25th Week in Ordinary TimeSeptember 25, 2009
Today's Readings:Haggai 2:1-9Ps 43:1-4 (with 5)Luke 9:18-22http://www.usccb.org/nab/092509.shtmlUSCCB Podcast of the Readings:http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/09_09_25.mp3
Who do you really say Jesus is?
We evangelize every day. Deliberately or not, consciously or not, we are evangelizers. The question is, what are we evangelizing about? What kind of Jesus are we teaching to others?
One of the most frequent ways that we evangelize about the truth is by genuinely living true faith – especially during hardships, in sight of those who are inexperienced at relying upon God. If we deal with problems without attitudes and decisions that imitate Jesus, our behavior teaches others that God is not reliable, his teachings don't matter, and he doesn't actually care.
It's not our words that evangelize; it's what our lives say. It's the message implied in our responses to everything that happens to us during the day. In today's Gospel passage, Jesus asks: "Who do YOU say that I am?" Did he mean, "Who do you SAY that I am?" as if he were more concerned about what comes out of our lips than out of our lives?
All too often, our words say one thing and our behavior another. People don't believe our words if our lives don't prove their validity. They can sense when our faith is not authentic. Young people are especially good at this. While we have them in Mass and while we have them in youth programs, the priests, liturgists, ushers and greeters, youth ministers and catechists, etc., had better be authentic in their faith and in their love. Plastic smiles that hide something unChrist-like are easily noticed by their uncanny observational skills.
The unworded interrogation is: "Who do you say Jesus is? Who is he for you? How real is he for you? Is he everything that you tell me he is? Why should I obey the teachings of the Church when you haven't bothered to see if you can get an annulment after your divorce? Why should I trust God if you tell me you pray and yet you worry so much? Why should I remain chaste with my dates after I've seen you enjoy movies and TV shows with steamy bedroom scenes?"
What young people are looking for are authentic examples of God. Teenagers and young adults are in transition, moving from childhood's unquestioning acceptance of their parents' faith into an adult ownership of their own faith. They are "chadults" – no longer children but not yet true adults until they own the responsibilities of adulthood. This stage might last many years. It's hampered by every inauthentic Christian they meet.
Good people who don't go to church are not looking for ways to reject true faith. What they're seeking is proof that the faith we preach is truly beneficial to embrace. Every person they encounter in the Church who fails to be Christ-like sends them off seeking God in other directions, if they seek him at all.
The good news is: Our repentance from sin is powerful way to show them authentic faith, and the truth of God's mercy, and a faith worth believing.
© 2009 by Terry A. ModicaFor PERMISSION to copy any of my reflections, go to:http://gogoodnews.net/DailyReflections/copyrights-DR.htm
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