Memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious
Believing in Jesus and sharing the Good News is an important part of our faith experience. For us to “know” Jesus, we must encounter Him. Through our relationship with Him, we come to know who He is. When we experience this revelation it is so remarkable that we are impelled to go out and tell others, so they too can hear and believe. It is in the presence of Christ-in our encounter with Him- that we are known, loved and transformed to become His presence in the world around us.
Today’s gospel recounts the story of Jesus meeting His first disciples. John the Baptist points to Jesus and proclaims, “Behold the Lamb of God.” Andrew and another disciple follow Jesus, and Jesus invites them to come and see where He is staying. By that afternoon, Andrew seeks his brother Simon and tells them that they have found the “Christ.” Andrew brings Simon, and Jesus welcomes Simon and renames him- Peter.
When reflecting on this passage, I am struck by the sequence of events. In a short period of less than one day, Andrew sees Jesus, follows Him, and then is convinced that Jesus is the messiah. I wonder what took place at the home where Jesus was staying. What did Jesus discuss with these two disciples that brought about this great conversion? This encounter with Jesus opens up the hearts and minds of these disciples, and now they believe that Christ is in their midst. Andrew is so excited about this encounter that he wants to share it with his brother Simon. The joy and hope that Andrew expresses as he tells Simon about Jesus is palpable. Andrew understands Jesus to be a source of Good News not just for himself, but for all of the Jewish people. As a disciple of John, Andrew knew that John was preparing the way for Someone else- and now Andrew knew who that was!
This story can provide opportunities for us to grow in our faith. Similar to Andrew and the other disciple, there are signs and messages around us pointing us to Christ. We must be attentive and act upon these directives. The signals lead us to Jesus Christ- the living God. Like Andrew it is essential for us to spend time with Jesus. With open ears and hearts we need to listen as He shares who He is and how He is calling us to follow Him. But as in all relationships, Jesus wants us to share our hearts with Him as well. As we share with Jesus our joys, hopes, sorrows, worries and failings, we create a strong bond of trust and love. Every opportunity we take to be in God’s presence provides us with the profound understanding that Christ is here with us always and everywhere. This realization is so incredible that we will want to go out and tell others, so that they can also come to believe.
Jesus knows who we are, but He also calls us to be transformed by His love. Like Peter, we become a new creation in Christ through our encounter with Him. Peter is given a directive to go out and share Christ with the world. Our encounter with Jesus through prayer, sacrament, scripture and the world also gives us the foundation to take His love and presence to those we encounter. When our eyes are truly open and our heart is completely free, not only will we be Christ for others, but we will recognize Christ in everyone and everything in the world around us. Every situation in every minute becomes an opportunity to encounter Christ. The more we are aware, the deeper our faith will grow. And the greater our faith, the more we will want others to know the same joy and hope!
May we encounter Christ in our lives, so that in everything we think, do and say- we can share Christ with the world!
- Marylynn Herchline