2. Word of Life Word of Life August 2012 August 2012

3. «Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven» (Mt 10,32-33).

4. This Word of Life is a source of great joy and encouragement to all Christians.

5. With it Jesus calls us to live truly according to our faith in him because our eternal destiny depends on the attitude we adopt towards him during our earthly life.

6. If we acknowledge him before others, he says, we will give him reason to acknowledge us before his Father.

7. «Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven» (Mt 10,32-33).

8. It is because he loves us that Jesus reminds us of the reward or the punishment awaiting us after this life. He knows, as one of the Fathers of the Church put it, that at times fear of punishment is more effective than a wonderful promise.

9. For this reason he fosters in us the hope of endless happiness while at the same time, just so he can save us, he awakens in us the fear of being condemned.

10. His concern is that we come to live with God forever. This, in the end, is all that matters. It is the goal for which we have been called into existence. Only with him, in fact, will we reach our complete self-fulfilment, the full realization of all our aspirations.

11. This is why Jesus urges us to ‘acknowledge’ him while we’re still on this earth. If instead we do not want to have anything to do with him, if we deny him now, when we pass on to the next life we will find ourselves cut off from him forever.

12. At the end of our earthly journey then, Jesus will do no more than confirm, before the Father, the choice each one of us has made while still on earth, with all its consequences. And, by referring to the final judgement, he shows us the tremendous importance and seriousness of the decision we make here on earth. Our eternity is at stake.

13. «Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven» (Mt 10,32-33).

14. How can we benefit from this warning by Jesus? How can we live this Word of his? He himself tells us: ‘Everyone who acknowledges me...’ Let’s decide then to acknowledge him before others simply and openly.

15. Let’s overcome human respect. Let’s leave behind mediocrity and compromise which empty our lives of authenticity, including our lives as Christians.

16. Let’s remember that we have been called to bear witness to Christ: he wants to reach all people with his message of peace, justice and love, precisely by means of us. Let’s witness to him wherever we are, with our family, at work, among friends, where we study or in any of the many different circumstances of life.

17. Let’s give this witness first of all by the way we behave: by honesty in our life, by purity in our habits, by detachment from money, by sharing the joys and sufferings of others.

18. Let’s give it especially in our love for one another, our unity, so that the peace and pure joy, promised by Jesus to whoever is united to him, fill our souls here on earth and overflow on to others.

19. And when anyone asks why we behave as we do, why we are so calm in such a troubled world, let’s speak as well, with humility and sincerity, using those words that the Holy Spirit will suggest to us, bearing witness to Christ also with our words, also on the level of ideas.

20. Then, perhaps, many of those searching for him will find him.

21. At other times we may be misunderstood, contradicted, made the object of mockery, possibly of hatred and persecution. Jesus warned us of this too: ‘If they persecuted me, they will persecute you’.

22. Even so, we are still on the right path. So let’s carry on bearing witness to him with courage even in the midst of trials, even at the cost of our life.

23. What awaits us is worth it: it is heaven, where Jesus, who we love, will acknowledge us before his Father for all eternity.

24. “The Word of Life”, Life”, monthly publication of the Focolare Movement. Text by: Chiara Lubich, written in 1984 Graphics Anna Lollo in collaboration with don Placido D’Omina (Sicilia, Italia) This Word of Life comment is translated in 90 languages and dialects, reaches more than 13 million people all over the world through the press, radio and television. For more information visit the web www.focolare.orgwww.focolare.org.uk This PPS, in different languages, is published on www.santuariosancalogero.org (where it can be downloaded) «Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven» (Mt 10,32-33)