From now on I am telling you before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe that I AM. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” ( Jn 13:19-20)
God is good!
God’s word in today’s liturgy presents a clear picture of what the church that Jesus was going to establish would be like—people with relationships with the Father and the son.
When Jesus said, “ whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me,” he was establishing an identifiable group with a common story originating from their identity with him and his father. Christianity is a relationship-based religion with a story to share with the world.
When Paul was invited to speak in the synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia, he told the story of Jesus, and how it was connected to the story of their ancestors. Paul reminded the people of their long standing relationship with God: “The God of these people Israel chose our ancestors and exalted the people during their sojourn in the land of Egypt. With an uplifted arm he led them out, and for about forty years he put up with them in the desert.”
Paul was making the point here that right from the beginning, the relationship God established with their ancestors was leading to the coming of the Messiah, a moment which stood before them now to acceptance. “From this man’s descendants God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus,” Paul intimated.
The story of Christianity and the church must be told at every opportunity to the world, to friends, and to families. But it must always begin with the question, what is Jesus to us?