PASTOR’S WEEKLY MESSAGE 10
Theme:  “If anyone declares himself for Me”

The Gospel today gives us a good occasion to think about one important part of our life as Christians.   It tells us what Jesus expects of us:  To speak, not only to defend people—but to speak and reveal ourselves as His followers.   He tells us clearly:  “If anyone declares himself for Me in the presence of men, I will declare Myself for him in the presence of My Father in heaven.”

These words we hear today give us the opportunity to ask ourselves:   What kind of a Christian am I?  Am I a Christian who is afraid to speak for Jesus?   Am I ashamed to show myself as His follower in front of people?   Or, am I courageous in speaking about Him and for Him?

When we receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, we receive the power of the Holy Spirit to become witnesses of Jesus.   As Christians, we are to witness for Jesus.   We are called by God to speak His message in words, sometimes, and speak His message through our lives, always.   We all know that it is not always easy to live the Christian life.   Each one of us has experienced times, when to get some benefit or advantage, we needed to ‘forget’ we were a Christian, thus, turning our back on Jesus.   This act would be saying to Him that I do not know Him, I do not belong to Him, because it is too costly just now.   But, we must become aware that, at times, it is costly to be a Christian.   When Jesus spoke to the Apostles the words of today’s gospel, He knew that many of them would have to pay a high price to be His disciples.  They would have to pay with their own lives.

This is what many of them did—they followed Jesus until the end—and died as martyrs.  The word ‘Martyr’ means exactly this:  to be Jesus’ witness through dying for Him, for our faith in Him.   We should always remain faithful to Christ, even if this means we would die a very cruel death.   Let us not be ashamed to live according to our faith.   Let us not be ashamed to share it with others.  As Christians, let us be strong and courageous.   Let us not be afraid to be laughed at.  Let us never turn our backs on Jesus.  Let us never deny Jesus in ‘forgetting’ the promises we made at our baptism.   Let us always declare ourselves for Jesus.  This does not mean to fight people of other faiths or laugh at their beliefs.  It simply means to be proud of being a Christian, a follower of Christ, to be strong in defending our faith, to be courageous in speaking Jesus’ message.

It is not everyday that you are asked to die as a martyr, but it is everyday that you are asked to live as a witness of Jesus Christ.  And if you do so, then if one day there comes a situation when you have to pay the price for being a Christian, on that day you will be able to speak, to live, and even die faithful to Christ.  And for sure, He will declare Himself for you in the presence of His Father in heaven.