BELIEVE IN JESUS THE CHRIST
In life there are moments of true sincerity in which arise from within us, with unaccustomed brightness and clarity, the most decisive questions: when it all comes down to it, what do I believe in? What is it that I hope for? In whom is my existence supported?
To be Christian is above all to believe in Christ. To have the fortune of having encountered him. Above every belief, formula, rite or way of thinking, what’s truly decisive in Christian experience is the encounter with Jesus, the Christ.
To go about discovering by personal experience, without anyone having to tell us from outside, all the power, light, joy, life that we can receive from Christ. To be able to say from one’s own experience that Jesus is «way, truth and life».
In the first place, discover him as way. Hear in him the invitation to walk, always move forward, don’t stop for anything, constantly renew ourselves, deepen our life, build a just world, make a more evangelical Church. Support ourselves in Christ in order to walk day by day the path that’s sorrowful and at the same time joyful, that goes from mistrust to faith.
In the second place, meet in Christ the truth. From him discover God in the root and in the finality of the love that we human beings give and receive. Know finally that the person is only human in love. Discover that the only truth is love, and discover it as we come close to the concrete being who suffers and is forgotten.
In the third place, meet life in Christ. In reality we persons believe in the one who gives us life. That’s why to be Christian isn’t to admire a leader or formulate a confession about Christ. It’s to meet with a Christ who is alive and capable of bringing us to life.
Jesus is «way, truth and life». It’s another way of walking through life. Another way of seeing and feeling existence. Another deeper dimension. Another clarity and generosity. Another horizon and understanding. Another light. Another energy. Another way of being. Another freedom. Another hope. Another living and dying.
José Antonio Pagola
Translator: Fr. Jay VonHandorf
