The Old Testament offers us 10 Commandments that spell out crucial guidelines for embracing a covenant with God. The Gospels focus on “The Great Commandment,” which spells out, or summarizes the importance of loving God, ourselves, and others. Then there are the “Beatitudes” describing the many blessings for those who imitate Jesus.
We can also count Matthew 28:18-20 as final ‘Commandment” of Jesus Christ, spoken just before he ascended into heaven. This important directive is also called the “Great Commission.’ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. But how do you and I “make disciples” or baptize, or teach? Isn’t this somebody else’s job? Yes and No!
Yes! All of the baptized are called to receive the life of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in deeper, ongoing and more personal ways throughout our whole lifetimes. This means seeking the presence, power, and joy of God-with-us in everyday life, by drawing upon the gift of new life given to us through Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. But to fulfil this final commandment also means to support others in faith. “[Jesus] said, ‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’” (Acts 1:4-9) Here are three things that his commandment to ‘witness’ means:
1) The Spirit calls us and sends us to be witnesses (Greek: martyrs) for Jesus Christ through words and deeds. All we are, and all we have, are meant to be used to bring Jesus to others in our personal slice of the world: our homes, families, neighborhoods, churches, workplaces, and communities.
2) Embrace the “danger” and the risk of demonstrating and speaking about the often quiet, but also electric presence of Jesus. It means, gently, but confidently stepping out of our comfort zones, no matter the consequences or failures.
“At no point in the Gospel does Jesus tell us that following him… will be filled with success or that people will like us for it… The road of discipleship is filled with failure; if we demand that our lives be successful, we won’t make it very far.” (Fr. Casey Cole, OFM, “Let Go: Stumbling Blocks to Christian Discipleship,” p. 28)
3) Like Jesus, we are meant to grow in sensitivity to the many people around us who are experiencing spiritual malnutrition. Like Jesus, we are meant to welcome the alienated and the indifferent who have left parishes and faith communities. Indeed, we are called to let go of negative assumptions about the multitudes of Catholics who are dehydrated, as they sit around a single dripping, rusted pipe. We can sit with them and point out that all of us, active or inactive, possess an overflowing, baptismal source of water, that will never leave us thirsting.