I tell you,
everyone who acknowledges me before others
the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God.
Jesus won't force us to associate with him. And if we want to associate with him at all it can't be an uncomfortable secret that we try to conceal from others. It can't be a friendship that is only one way. Jesus already demonstrated his love for us on the cross. To fully receive that love, our friendship with him must make us willing to speak of him before others, willing to have it known that he is our friend.
But whoever denies me before others
will be denied before the angels of God.
Jesus is not being stubborn or prideful in insisting that we acknowledge him. What he really wants from us is a friendship so strong that we don't shrink from acknowledging him just as he did not shrink from taking up the cross for us. We are free to deny him before others. But if we choose to do so, he will honor that denial. However, if we acknowledge him the benefits that accrue to us are disproportionately great. He will then speak of us as his own before all of the hosts of heaven.
Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven
It is possible, like Peter, to deny Jesus but to later regret it, and to then seek and receive forgiveness. Peter honored the impulse of the Holy Spirit that told him that his failure was not the final word in his story, that there was still hope for him.
Judas, like Peter, denied the Son of Man. But Judas, it seemed, also refused to listen to the Holy Spirit speaking the possibility of forgiveness and hope. He went so far as to make this refusal permanent by taking his own life. Refusing to repent to the very end, denying even the possibility of hope, is the only sin that cannot be forgiven. Because, as we saw at the start, Jesus won't force his friendship on us, no matter how much, from his side, he desires it.
When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities,
do not worry about how or what your defense will be
or about what you are to say.
For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.
We don't necessarily need to know how to acknowledge Jesus, we just need sufficient willingness to do so. If we are willing and if our hearts are open his Spirit will teach us even how to acknowledge him. Nothing asked of us ultimately devolves back only upon our own efforts. Everything asked is an invitation, an offer of the grace necessary to respond. This is important to know because one thing that certainly can and often does paralyze us and prevent us from acknowledging Jesus is fear. But it is typically a fear about what ifs and future contingents. It draws us out of the moment where God is present with us and showing us the way. Let us remember, when fear tries to silence us, to listen instead for the still small voice of the Spirit.
Even when things seem impossible from a human perspective our faith teaches us that there is still a good ground for hope.
He believed, hoping against hope,
that he would become the father of many nations,
according to what was said, Thus shall your descendants be.
Our God is one who "calls into being what does not exist", just as he did in the creation of the universe ex nihilo. But he is no less able to do this in our own lives and circumstances. Our part is simple. We must believe, we must hope, and we must let our belief and hope take shape in acknowledging Jesus in how we live and speak.
No comments:
Post a Comment