How do we develop a personal relationship with the person of Christ?
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In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. St John 1:4-5 DRB
In Christ is life; in his words, in his actions, in his precious body and blood. At the heart of the Christian faith lies a relationship to the flesh and blood person of Jesus, the living embodiment of God. Yet, this relationship is difficult for us to develop because we can only encounter Him in the pages of the Bible, and under the accidents of bread and wine in the Eucharist. The Gospels, including this one, are relayed to us by those who had the privilege of knowing him in the flesh. And what a privilege it must have been! Despite the risk of death, the Apostles and early disciples proclaimed the revelation of Christ to Jews and Gentiles alike because through Him they had received life. He showed them how to truly live here on earth, and he merited for them and all of us the gift of eternal life through His sacrifice on the cross.
Still, many who had the privilege of knowing Jesus in the flesh could not accept the salvation he freely offered them. They could not accept the gift of life; they could not comprehend the truth, preferring instead to remain in the darkness of the shadow of death. Today nothing has changed. Many cannot accept the salvation Christ freely offers. The only difference is that we who live today extending His invitation have only the memory of Christ and His teachings in Sacred Scripture as well as the Sacred Tradition handed to us by those who knew Him to guide us. Our consolation is His presence in the Eucharist to sustain us. Where then do we turn for the human dimension to this personal relationship with Jesus that we might offer it to others?
Christ didn't leave us with his written works, he left us a church built through the personal relationships he had with his Apostles and disciples. A church which he tells us that "the gates of hell shall not prevail against" (Matt. 16:18b DRB). And before Jesus left the Apostles, he told them he would be with us always, to the close of the age (Matt. 28:20b RSV2CE). The Apostles had the privilege of knowing Jesus in the flesh, but He still departed from them after only three years. How did they maintain a personal relationship with Jesus even when he was no longer with them?
The Apostles continued Christ's ministry by preaching the Gospel and growing His Church. They shared His life with one another as a community, loving one another as Christ loved them. In this way, they shared with others the life that was the light of men by inviting them into a personal relationship with the flesh and blood person of Christ through themselves. Having conformed their lives to Christ, God's grace was able to work through them. This is how they were able to grow the new Body of Christ on earth - the Church. By forming personal relationships with people rooted in God's love, God's grace brought them, and those whose lives they touched, ever closer to the heart of Christ.
This love carried the Church through the ages to this very day. Though the shadow of death looms over the future of in an increasingly secular world, we must find our way back to the heart of Christ if we hope to shine the light of God's truth into the future. We must rediscover what it means to be a community, to be the members of the Body of Christ on earth that is the Church so that we can find the human dimension of Christ in each other. Many trials lie ahead of us, but together we will overcome them as we help one another to stay on the path to eternal life.
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