“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Rom 1:16)
“Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.” (Lk 9:26)
“But whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” (Mt 10:33)
“But he said to them, “I must preach the good news to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” (Lk 4:43)
General Reflections:
Jesus will acknowledge to His Father everyone who acknowledges to others that He is the Son of God. When the time of judgment before God comes, Jesus will vouch for everyone who embraced Him as their Saviour. He will stand alongside them, before God the Father, as a righteous witness to vouch for those who belong to Him. The implication is that those who are His will be welcomed into eternity with the Father.
Jesus adds that the opposite is also true. He will refuse to acknowledge to His father anyone who denies Him to other people. Because we can only be declared righteous by our faith in Jesus, those He denies will be denied by the Father, as well. The consequences of this will also be eternal.
As Jesus preached the Good News to other towns, He is calling us to go to other parishes, dioceses, towns, regions and communities to proclaim the Good News there, to start our CLPs and Camps. Jesus did not limit His Ministry to the Jews, so too we must not limit our ministry to our parish and to Filipinos. We must go to other parish, diocese, towns, regions, and communities. We must invite non-Filipinos to our CLPs and community.
Personal Reflections:
Do you have the courage to acknowledge Jesus before others and share with them your faith? Or are you ashamed to do so?
Do you consider your faith and/or religion personal to you hence you keep it to yourself?
Even worse, have you denied Jesus when confronted with uneasy/uncomfortable questions about your faith and religion?
Are you willing to go to other parishes, dioceses, towns, regions, and communities to conduct CLPs and Camps?
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