Reflection Starters
The following four pictures and statements are meant to be reflection starters as you articulate your image or story of what you think about God.
> Should you choose the far right statement and the one on the bottom, then select the Bottom Right picture.
OR
choose the left statement along with either the top or bottom one and then the corresponding picture.
2. Then respond to the next two questions
3. Reflect and write down for yourself how you would begin to tell another person who you are
The following four pictures and statements are meant to be reflection starters as you articulate your image or story of what you think about God.
- Choose the two statements which best reflect your current perspective.
> Should you choose the far right statement and the one on the bottom, then select the Bottom Right picture.
OR
choose the left statement along with either the top or bottom one and then the corresponding picture.
2. Then respond to the next two questions
3. Reflect and write down for yourself how you would begin to tell another person who you are
A Story
John one of the twelve disciples wrote this about Jesus “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life, for the life was made visible; we have seen it and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was made visible to us what we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; for our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.” (1 John 1:1-4) |
Jesus the Christ
The word Jesus means “God Saves”. The word Christ means “The Anointed One or Messiah”. Jesus, the one anointed by God, is the Savior. This is quite different from saying that Jesus is a good person or a great teacher or a significant religious figure. A Christian is one who follows the Risen Christ as Lord.
There is no doubt that Jesus was born, lived, and died and that his message of love and life has changed our world. Like a seed planted in the ground and begun to grow, so Jesus’ impact on the world has taken root and spread, not completely, but significantly and substantially throughout the world. Men and women, young and old in every age and from every land and culture have become Disciples of Jesus Christ.
Everyone who has heard about Jesus and his message has had to make some sort of a decision about him and whether or not they would choose to become his disciple and embrace his way of life.
The Gospels:
At the heart of the Christian Scriptures are the Gospels (The Good News). The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are not biographies of Jesus Christ but carefully constructed presentations of Jesus Christ and his message to help the members of specific communities and both hearers and readers today to believe that he is the Savior sent by God to bring us joy, peace, love and the fullness of life.
The word Jesus means “God Saves”. The word Christ means “The Anointed One or Messiah”. Jesus, the one anointed by God, is the Savior. This is quite different from saying that Jesus is a good person or a great teacher or a significant religious figure. A Christian is one who follows the Risen Christ as Lord.
There is no doubt that Jesus was born, lived, and died and that his message of love and life has changed our world. Like a seed planted in the ground and begun to grow, so Jesus’ impact on the world has taken root and spread, not completely, but significantly and substantially throughout the world. Men and women, young and old in every age and from every land and culture have become Disciples of Jesus Christ.
Everyone who has heard about Jesus and his message has had to make some sort of a decision about him and whether or not they would choose to become his disciple and embrace his way of life.
The Gospels:
At the heart of the Christian Scriptures are the Gospels (The Good News). The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are not biographies of Jesus Christ but carefully constructed presentations of Jesus Christ and his message to help the members of specific communities and both hearers and readers today to believe that he is the Savior sent by God to bring us joy, peace, love and the fullness of life.
- Luke begins his Gospel by saying, "I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received."(Luke 1:3-4).
- John concludes his Gospel by saying, "But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name."(John 20:31).
Key Moments in Jesus' Mission and Life
Jesus embraces the Cross
One way to understand how Jesus’ death and resurrection saves us is to consider that another word for sin is violence. Jesus is the victim of both religious and civil violence. Jesus forgives those who have condemned him and crucified him. (Lk 23:34) His disciples are to forgive and love their enemies. (Matt 5:44 & Lk 6:35) |
Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension
When Jesus rose from the dead his first words to his disciples were “Peace be with you.” (Jn 20: 9-23). Jesus broke the cycle of violence. He did not make other victims. He disciples are called to both forgive and love their enemies so that sin (violence of thoughts, words or actions) can no longer have control over them. Then he sends his disciples to make other disciples. |
Peter is an icon of the Church and model of being a disciple.
He acknowledges Jesus as Messiah {Lord and Savior} (Matt 16:13-20) He repents of his sin when he affirms his love for Jesus (Jn 1:15-19) At Pentecost he invites all to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior (Acts 2:14-41) especially verses 37-41. He acts to bring healing and hope to others (Acts 3:1-10) Jesus invites us to become his disciple both in name and in fact. This requires acknowledging Jesus as Lord and Savior (Matt 16:13-20 & Mark 1:14–15); a true repentance of personal sin (Mk 4:17 and Luke 24:46-47) and a love of neighbor (Jn 13:34-35) ( 1 Jn 4:7-21) Being a disciple is a life-long commitment
Through the gift of the Holy Spirit and the gift of the Church community (Jesus’ disciples) which is universal in mission, sacramental in nature and hierarchical in structural in nature we continue to grow as disciples. (John 21:15-19) |
Jesus’ Unique Message and Miracles
Jesus' actions and teachings are unique. For instance, while some think the Golden Rule, i.e. "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" is the extent of Jesus' message, his teachings. Go well beyond that for at the Last Supper, he commanded his disciple to, "Love one another as I have loved you."(John 13:34). No other religious leader has ever said this.
Through his teachings, Jesus spells out a new way of life. In his “Sermon on the Mount”, his inaugural address, he called his disciples to a true conversion of heart. His disciples are not to become angry with others much less kill them. Rather, they are to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them. They are to continue to grow and become fully alive. (Matthew Chapters 5 -7) In a word, Jesus teaches his disciples how to live rightly before God and neighbor and thus proclaims the Reign of God. (The Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven or in more colloquial terms, “a new way of living”).
Jesus' Central Message:
Jesus' central message is that God wants to live in a personal and intimate relationship with each person. Through his parables Jesus helps his disciples understand that God is overwhelmingly, generous in a love which is both forgiving and life-giving. (Luke 15)
The love of neighbor which Jesus teaches is AGAPE love; that is a love for the good of the other without counting the cost. It is a love of generous service, self-giving and sacrifice. The love of husband and wife for one another or parents for their children or first responders for their country or community is often this type of love.
Who is this Jesus?
This is the question that each one needs to answer. Is Jesus simply an outstanding religious teacher, is he delusional or is he the Son of God sent to bring us to new life (John3:16-17)
In a systematic and orderly way, the Gospels proclaim the Good News which the first disciples `proclaimed: "That Jesus is Lord and Savior and the fulfillment of God's promise to save us." (Acts 3:12-26).
Jesus: Fully Human and Fully Divine:
As Catholics we believe, along with most other Christians, that Jesus is the Eternal Son of God (fully divine) and also the Son of Mary (fully human). Sent by the Father, the Son of God (the Second Person of the Trinity) took on our human nature by the power of the Holy Spirit (the Third Person of the Trinity) being born into this world as the Son of Mary. We celebrate Jesus’ birth at Christmas and refer to it as the Incarnation (the entering into flesh). Because Jesus is fully divine and fully human, he reveals in a definitive way what God is like and how we are to relate to one another.
As St. Paul said in his letter to the Philippians, "Though Jesus was in the form of God, he did not cling to his Godhead, but emptied himself and took our human form even to the point of accepting death, death on a cross. Therefore God raised him and made him Lord of all for the glory of the Father." (Phil 2:5-11)
Jesus' passage from death to the new life of Resurrection is the central event of the New Testament (the Christian Scriptures). His passage from death to life (the Passover) is foreshadowed by the passage of Moses and the Hebrew people from Egypt to the Promised Land. This is called the Paschal Mystery and it results in a New Covenant (relationship) between God and all who follow Christ. The Paschal Mystery is the pattern and guide for Christ disciples in their celebrations and their daily lives.
What began with the Incarnation is completed with the Resurrection. Jesus accepted the limits of being human. He lived in a particular time and place. Both in Life and Death Jesus entrusted himself totally to the Father. As a result, he experienced God's power in the Resurrection.
In a similar way, Jesus shows us that only when we become aware of God's transforming presence in the limited situations of our life and respond to that presence through a surrender of love can we become fully alive.
Encountering Jesus, the Christ
A mature Catholic is one who had developed a loving relationship with Jesus, the person who leads each one to the Father, fills one with the Holy Spirit, teaches one what it means to live in community and how to love one’s neighbor as well as the world and cosmos in which one lives.
Pope Benedict XVI said it well when he said:
"One doesn't begin to be a Christian because of an ethical decision or a great idea, but rather because of an encounter with an event, with a Person, who gives new horizons to life, and with that, a decisive orientation.”
- Pope Benedict XVI, Vatican City, November 13, 2007
“An encounter with Jesus is not the fruit of historical research of or doctrinal reflection. We begin to encounter Jesus when we begin to trust God as he did, when we believe in love as he did, when we come to suffering people as he did, when we defend life as he did, when we look at people as he did, when we confront life and death with hope as he did, when we pass on the contagion of the Good News as he did”.
Jesus: An Historical Approximation by Jose A. Pagola
Jesus' actions and teachings are unique. For instance, while some think the Golden Rule, i.e. "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" is the extent of Jesus' message, his teachings. Go well beyond that for at the Last Supper, he commanded his disciple to, "Love one another as I have loved you."(John 13:34). No other religious leader has ever said this.
Through his teachings, Jesus spells out a new way of life. In his “Sermon on the Mount”, his inaugural address, he called his disciples to a true conversion of heart. His disciples are not to become angry with others much less kill them. Rather, they are to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them. They are to continue to grow and become fully alive. (Matthew Chapters 5 -7) In a word, Jesus teaches his disciples how to live rightly before God and neighbor and thus proclaims the Reign of God. (The Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven or in more colloquial terms, “a new way of living”).
- Jesus is the only religious leader who has taught that:
- God is a Father of everlasting love and mercy: ABBA (John 17:1 & Matt 6:9-15);
- We are beloved sons and daughters of God. (John 17:20-23);
- We are to love one another as He (Jesus) has loved us. (John 15:12);
- We are to love our neighbor as ourselves. (Mk 12:31, Mt 22:39, Lk 10:27)
- Jesus not only enabled the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, (Mk 2:1-12, Mt 9:1-8, Lk 5:17-26, John 8:1-11) and lepers to be healed and restored to their community (Lk17:11-19) but he raised the dead to new life (Lk 7:11-17) and forgave sins) and calmed storms.(Mk 4:35-41, Matt 8:23-26, Lk 8:22-25) and walks on water (Matt 14:23-33)
- At the wedding feast at Cana Jesus changed water into wine, (Jn 2:1-11) and multiplied the fish and loaves to feed the hungry multitude. (Matt 15:32-39, Mk 8:1-10)
Jesus' Central Message:
Jesus' central message is that God wants to live in a personal and intimate relationship with each person. Through his parables Jesus helps his disciples understand that God is overwhelmingly, generous in a love which is both forgiving and life-giving. (Luke 15)
The love of neighbor which Jesus teaches is AGAPE love; that is a love for the good of the other without counting the cost. It is a love of generous service, self-giving and sacrifice. The love of husband and wife for one another or parents for their children or first responders for their country or community is often this type of love.
Who is this Jesus?
This is the question that each one needs to answer. Is Jesus simply an outstanding religious teacher, is he delusional or is he the Son of God sent to bring us to new life (John3:16-17)
In a systematic and orderly way, the Gospels proclaim the Good News which the first disciples `proclaimed: "That Jesus is Lord and Savior and the fulfillment of God's promise to save us." (Acts 3:12-26).
Jesus: Fully Human and Fully Divine:
As Catholics we believe, along with most other Christians, that Jesus is the Eternal Son of God (fully divine) and also the Son of Mary (fully human). Sent by the Father, the Son of God (the Second Person of the Trinity) took on our human nature by the power of the Holy Spirit (the Third Person of the Trinity) being born into this world as the Son of Mary. We celebrate Jesus’ birth at Christmas and refer to it as the Incarnation (the entering into flesh). Because Jesus is fully divine and fully human, he reveals in a definitive way what God is like and how we are to relate to one another.
As St. Paul said in his letter to the Philippians, "Though Jesus was in the form of God, he did not cling to his Godhead, but emptied himself and took our human form even to the point of accepting death, death on a cross. Therefore God raised him and made him Lord of all for the glory of the Father." (Phil 2:5-11)
Jesus' passage from death to the new life of Resurrection is the central event of the New Testament (the Christian Scriptures). His passage from death to life (the Passover) is foreshadowed by the passage of Moses and the Hebrew people from Egypt to the Promised Land. This is called the Paschal Mystery and it results in a New Covenant (relationship) between God and all who follow Christ. The Paschal Mystery is the pattern and guide for Christ disciples in their celebrations and their daily lives.
What began with the Incarnation is completed with the Resurrection. Jesus accepted the limits of being human. He lived in a particular time and place. Both in Life and Death Jesus entrusted himself totally to the Father. As a result, he experienced God's power in the Resurrection.
In a similar way, Jesus shows us that only when we become aware of God's transforming presence in the limited situations of our life and respond to that presence through a surrender of love can we become fully alive.
Encountering Jesus, the Christ
A mature Catholic is one who had developed a loving relationship with Jesus, the person who leads each one to the Father, fills one with the Holy Spirit, teaches one what it means to live in community and how to love one’s neighbor as well as the world and cosmos in which one lives.
Pope Benedict XVI said it well when he said:
"One doesn't begin to be a Christian because of an ethical decision or a great idea, but rather because of an encounter with an event, with a Person, who gives new horizons to life, and with that, a decisive orientation.”
- Pope Benedict XVI, Vatican City, November 13, 2007
“An encounter with Jesus is not the fruit of historical research of or doctrinal reflection. We begin to encounter Jesus when we begin to trust God as he did, when we believe in love as he did, when we come to suffering people as he did, when we defend life as he did, when we look at people as he did, when we confront life and death with hope as he did, when we pass on the contagion of the Good News as he did”.
Jesus: An Historical Approximation by Jose A. Pagola
Our Catholic Story:
As Catholics we believe
As Catholics we believe
- That the God of Jesus is the God of Life and the One whom he calls, “Abba”, Father.
- In Church language, God is the Source of all Graciousness or Grace.
- Jesus is one Person, the Second Person of the Trinity, who has two natures: Jesus is the Son of God and the son of Mary: Jesus is both fully Divine and fully Human.
- God not only loves us, but is with us and acts for us to save us and bring us new life.
- It is for this reason that we can love others, be with them and act for them.
Your story
Would you modify your story of who Jesus is in some way?
Other Questions
What other questions do you have or would like to ask?
A) ______________________________________________
B) ______________________________________________
C) _______________________________________________
Some Additional Resources
Links
Who is Jesus?
What does it mean to believe in Jesus Christ?
Is Jesus really still relevant today?
How can Jesus be both God and man?
How do we know Jesus is the Son of God?
What's meant by Jesus’s Passion? Why did Jesus have to suffer and die?
Books
Links
Who is Jesus?
What does it mean to believe in Jesus Christ?
Is Jesus really still relevant today?
How can Jesus be both God and man?
How do we know Jesus is the Son of God?
What's meant by Jesus’s Passion? Why did Jesus have to suffer and die?
Books
- Under the Influence of Jesus by Joe Paprocki