Sunday, June 25, 2023

Theme:

Jesus reminds us that the road to discipleship is not easy. Accepting Jesus as our savior is easy but living the Jesus Way comes with challenges. Yet, he promises us that he will eventually reward us for our faithfulness and urges us not to be afraid of the cost of discipleship. Jesus is honest about the perils of following his way, yet he also promises us that he will stay with us, even when the way is difficult.

Reflections:

Jesus is preparing his disciples for the work ahead. They have been called, they been with Jesus and he heard his teaching, witnessed his miracles and healings and are learning his ways. Now the time is coming for them to go out and bear witness to him. And guess what? It will not be easy. Their reputations will be challenged. People will not believe them. They will be abused, arrested, and beaten. Does not sound like the kind of job they expected? But the good news is Jesus promises to be with them, to give them the words to say and the power to sustain and carry on.

We are called to same level of discipleship. We may not be beaten or abused or arrested but we will face some of the same challenges Being a follower in our world today is not easy. Being a Christian is not the same as it was years ago. It used to be easy because Christianity was respected and in the majority. Today, we are the minority, and we are facing many challenges in the world to survive. But we must not lose faith. We must be bold with our witness, and we must know that Jesus will support us in our discipleship. SO go and live the Jesus way of love, compassion, mercy and justice. Go and know you may be called irrelevant but do not be afraid. Jesus is with you and the world needs Jesus now more than ever.

Questions:

1. Why do you believe the church and the faith is declining?
2. Have you ever been challenged about your faith?
3. What can we do to better be a witness to the Jesus way?