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A few years ago, the sensation was the film by director Scorsese, The Last Temptation of Christ. There, Jesus is presented as an ordinary man who struggles with doubts about his own identity right up to the end. I confess that I haven’t seen the whole movie (I only lasted until halfway through), but even from what I have seen, I understand that the Jesus of the movie is not the same as the Jesus of the Gospels. The Jesus of the Gospels knew exactly who he was, and he was quite open about it. What did he say about himself?

First, it is necessary to realize what he never said about himself. Jesus never referred to himself directly as God. In such a strictly monotheistic country, this was unthinkable. The reason was simple: his hearers would have thought he had identified himself as Yahweh, and they would have stoned him to death with blasphemy. Moreover, Jesus did not even want to present Himself as the God of the Old Testament. He came as a servant and obedient Son…

Most often He referred to Himself as the Son – not the Son of God Son, but the Son of Man. Paradoxically, this title does not mean that Jesus considered Himself to be a man; quite the contrary. The prophet Daniel, in a vision, “saw in the clouds of heaven someone like the Son of Man coming. He was called the Ancient of Ages, and they brought Him before Him. He was given power, glory, and a kingdom for all people, nations, and nationalities to serve Him. Jehovah’s reign is everlasting, and it shall not pass away; His kingdom shall not pass away.” (Daniel7:13-14) Not surprisingly, Jesus got in trouble with the Pharisees for identifying Himself as the Son of Man…and not surprisingly, the people took this to mean that He was thereby proclaiming Himself the promised Messiah…

While in the Synoptic (i.e., Matthew, Mark, and Luke)it is mostly the title Son of Man that appears, in John’s Gospel Jesus is also presented in other ways. Nicodemus, a leading man among the Jews, speaks of himself as the only-begotten Son of God, or Son for short (John 3:16-18). To the woman of Samaria, he directly told her that he was the Christ (Jn 4:25-26). In his discourses with the Jews, he repeatedly speaks of God as his Father (which of course is also the case with the Synoptic), or he refers to Him as the One who sent Him. Moreover, in chapter 8 He says of Himself 3 times “I am” (Jn 8:24, 28, 58). In the Greek original, this is ego aim, which is also the Greek translation of the Hebrew YHWH in the NT. When the Jews heard this, they “lifted the stones to throw at Him” (Jn 8:59). The way He spoke of Himself was tantamount to blasphemy in their eyes – He was claiming to be God. Once more He tactically presented Himself – in Gethsemane, where they came to arrest Him; when the soldiers heard this, they “fell back to the ground” (Jn 18:6)…

Jesus also spoke of Himself in parables, especially in John. His words “I am the bread of life”(Jn 6:35); “I am the light of the world”(Jn 8:12); “I am the good shepherd” (Jn 10:11); “I am the resurrection and the life” (Jn 11:25) or “I am the way and the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6) are well known. All these similes say something about who he is. He cares for us as a shepherd and cares for his sheep. He lightens the way we walk, and he is the way. He is the truth, which is not relative, but always true and unchanging. He also gives us eternal life.

There are still questionable statements in John that are contradictory at first glance. In one place, Jesus says: “I and the Father are one” (Jn. 10:30); this is supported elsewhere by, “…I am in the Father, and the Father in me” (Jn. 14:10). And immediately afterward he says: “…the Father is greater than I” (Jn 14:28). Does this contradict each other? Out of context, for sure. But what was Jesus talking about? In the first case, He was talking about the one essence He shares with the Father; hence the use of the middle gender (one). This does not mean that Jesus and the Father are the same people; after all, when Jesus died on the cross, the Father raised Him on Sunday morning. The second statement describes Jesus’ intimate relationship with His Father. And the third, perhaps the most controversial, again expresses that Jesus, while He lived on earth, was limited in part by His human body; thus God the Father was indeed greater at that particular time, but only at that particular time.

These statements do not belong in the mouth of the “good teacher of mankind,” as many people take Him to be. Jesus never represented Himself that way. He spoke of Himself as God the Son. As C.S. Lewis put it, Jesus was either the greatest fool that ever lived, the vilest liar deceiver, even the devil, or truly Lord and God. There is no other option. It is up to each one of us to choose who we believe Him to be. Who did His hearers say He was, and who did His closest disciples who knew Him personally think He was?

The prophet Isaiah is one of the great biblical figures who accompany us during Advent. This prophet expresses the hope of Israel, shows the expectations of man 58, and announces their early fulfillment in the person of the Savior. We have no reason to doubt God. He will fulfill his promises, he will not be late. He who created heaven and earth has the power to redeem Israel. Today we hear Isaiah’s celebratory song in honor of God, who brings salvation through his Anointed One. The God of Israel is the Lord because he made everything and by his creative activity creates something completely new. God is one and exercises his rule over all of human history.

God’s power was manifested in the creation of the world, in which God gave it the noble task of being a dwelling place for man. The pinnacle of God’s sovereign rule is his desire and decision to save man and lead him to sincerely seek justice and goodness. This reveals a just God who can establish a relationship of community and covenant and become a Savior. God reigns supreme over the entire world and mankind, and nothing can resist his power. Although God’s action on behalf of his faithful is mysterious and hidden, before the eyes of all people God reveals his uniqueness and incomparability with anything else. This is the God whom Israel – God’s people – must make known to all other nations.

In these days, which prepare us for the birth of the Savior, in which heaven meets earth and divinity unites with humanity, let us call on the Lord with the prophet Isaiah for a mysterious exchange to take place: God becomes the son of man to make us, people God’s children. Even this certainty of faith does not prevent doubts and fears from arising in our hearts. Sometimes we can even feel that our life has no purpose. At this moment, there is nothing left but to immerse ourselves completely in prayer and turn to the Lord, because only in Him can we find victory and power.

Often we feel that doing God’s will is something difficult and the moment before we make a decision, when we consider yes or no, seems like a green mile. Jesus said that his food was to do the Father’s will, and it doesn’t seem to me that Jesus was only doing the Father’s will during his finishing straight on earth.

Doing God’s will can be enjoyed or seen as an unbearable burden falling to the ground under the weight of commands and prohibitions. As long as we are filled with the Holy Spirit, He Himself evokes in us the identity of sons, where we spontaneously cry out Abba (daddy) (Rom 8:15) and He inscribes God’s law on our hearts (Jer 31:33). In other words, as long as we don’t have the Holy Spirit within us, Christian principles become an incredible burden and any demand from God evokes in us the feeling that we just have to give up something again and that God is robbing us of our joy.

If we are filled with the Holy Spirit, if we have a relationship with the Holy Spirit, He causes us to seek out opportunities on our own to do God’s will, to spread God’s kingdom, and it brings us sincere joy.

I first heard the question “Are you a son or a slave” sometime in the fall of 2004 at a talk by Mario Tomasik. This question can still be alive for us and can be a barometer of how much we want to do God’s will and advance God’s kingdom. The Son takes care of his Father’s property with joy, he improves it, and when he needs to work, he knows why he is doing it. A slave works because he has to, not because he does it of his own accord. A slave has no personal interest in the spread of the king’s empire.

If we sincerely allow and expect the Holy Spirit to fill us, the Holy Spirit comes, changes our identity from slave to son, joy comes, passion comes into our lives, and we have a desire to do God’s will.

The task for today
Let us ask the Holy Spirit to fill us and to let us know His will for our lives. I am sure He will answer and guide us.

The word “miracle” is used a lot in our time. Let’s face it, it is slow as devalued as “love”. We are bombarded with news from all sides, and let’s face it, it’s a grateful topic for the various media, no matter how they seize it. For example, reports of one or another apparition. But it is interesting, and little is written about it, that the Church has so far recognized only 12 apparitions of the Mother of God. Really, what is the meaning of the revelations?

Maybe right now, when we are experiencing Advent, we should think about it, and maybe also because today, especially, the Church in America is commemorating the anniversary of the apparition of the Mother of God in Guadalupe, Mexico. Some time ago, a friend of mine wrote these words in his diary: – I recently returned from a pilgrimage in Guadalupe, Mexico. I must say that she enriched me immensely. I have never seen so many children anywhere in the world. They were even comparable in number to adults.

From two-month-old babies to older children. There was immense peace, trust, faith, and surrender. “Unless you become like these children, you will not enter the kingdom of God,” said Jesus. Now I understand what he meant. The child goes straight for his goal, he says honestly what he thinks. When he feels love, he shows it; when he resistant, he will do it again without pretense. This sincerity radiates from them, and with such a crowd as in Guadalupe, it is an amazing experience. No nervousness of adults that their children are disturbing, only tolerance and living shared experiences. On the other hand, a minimum of children would disturb the festivities in the extreme. Why is it possible here and not here?

There are a lot of thoughts that I would like to squeeze into thinking, I have told you a few important ones, although without an evaluative conclusion. I’ll leave that up to you, dear listeners. Perhaps there is a call to tolerance without betraying our convictions, and sincerity in our actions, hidden somewhere here, even with the help of a reminder of the revelation from 1531. An open child’s heart, responsibility even for things that seem unimportant to us, and accepting others as ourselves is the only way that will bring us the peace we so long for and show us the true beauty of life.

From a material point of view, this quality is the result or outcome of the action of several factors: health, temperament, thrift or harmoniousness of life, equanimity, courage to take upon oneself all the consequences of truth and justice, a never-ending process of self-education, success in one’s relations to people, to work, an unburdened conscience, sincere and deep faith in God’s providence, etc.
Joy is a matter of the heart and has deep roots. It is not infrequently accompanied by cheerfulness. However, it also goes very well with seriousness. Cheerfulness is usually something external, superficial, even explosive, and passionate; joy is lasting, while cheerfulness comes and goes; joy is a state of mind, cheerfulness is an emotion that is suddenly there and just as suddenly gone. Without inner joy, there is no outer joy – as there is no heat in a room without heating.

Joy is said to be a gift in some rare cases of nature in people who were born on a Sunday. They have received it, as it were, but after reaching a certain stage of development, it has also played its part in upbringing. Thus the inherited qualities of resistance to negative influences, courage, and intrepidity in the face of life’s trials were organically engaged by the conscious acquisition of noble human qualities.

And the result? Clarity of mind and an undrained wellspring of joyfulness to so much so that others feel as if something radiates from these people. This kind of joyfulness can only be partially “taught.” It means perhaps that for all the other, less happy individuals who have
have not inherited this gift, this virtue is unattainable? Certainly not. Apart from the special interventions of God, it should be noted that certain prerequisites. The first of these is the inclination, nay, the courage to be joyful, and the second is the ability to create the manifold preconditions of joy.

Education for joy must go hand in hand with education for piety – as the brilliant educator of the past did and preached to St. John Bosco. Let us begin with the simplest: environmental modification, especially the home. This includes, among other things, the choice of suitable furniture, its color matching that of the walls, carpets, curtains and drapes, pictures and decorative objects, flowers or plants. A rich source of joy is music and poetry, sociability and a sense of conviviality, the ability to be selfless in one’s approach to every Personal virtue, etc. All this works to create a fertile space for joy – but it is not yet a virtue.

One must insure oneself against two pitfalls: emotional lability and chronic moroseness. One must strive to eradicate them from the soul like rubbish or insects. One must not trifle with feelings that stem from these two attitudes of life but react, just as soon as the first dark cloud rises: to withdraw it below the horizon, to defuse it. Otherwise, the sky will soon be clouded with black clouds, and a storm, often with thunder, is here. It often requires a tough, but above all determined, methodical, and persistent self-discipline. If a man has often, by his own doing, attracted sorrow, he ought to have as much sense, ingenuity, and strength to attract joy as well.

Interestingly, posture also plays an important role in this battle against irritation and sullenness. Having lowered shoulders, drooping arms, slouching, walking as if carrying a heavy load – all these things somehow predispose one to melancholy, if not to dissatisfaction or even anger. One must have the courage to straighten up, to give the muscles a certain tone, to clear one’s face, to find a “magic word”, so to speak, which will help one to acquire a new physical-psychophysical frame of mind. And not only to banish the gloomy mood but also to eliminate anxiety or fear of the future. But it must be
very intuitive and spoken with a great deal of courage and humor.

Each person is sensitive to different expressions or slogans. However, there are some, generally very effective when first encountering our psyche. For example, the monosyllabic word “I like!”. Let’s say a person is standing in front of a difficult or unpleasant situation and says to himself: “Gladly!” or “I like it I’ll take it!” And immediately he feels not only a surge of courage and strength but also of joy. Another tried-and-tested “magic password” is the phrase, “It will be cheerful.”

Every man capable of introspection will realize after a time that something in a few moments will free him from the burden, melancholy, sadness, irritation, and even anger. For one, it is a kind of
melody or a song, for another the opportunity to groan at some image or sequence of images, for another some exercise or a few minutes of concentration on inhaling and exhaling, or finally a very concentrated utterance of a prayer that one knows by heart. There are as many “tricks” as there are people. Although – and this also needs to be must be said – that one must have the strength to reach for them.

The situation changes incredibly after some time of intense, relentless but sensible practice. One feels (sometimes with a great deal of euphoria) that one is a free being who rules even over one’s feelings and moods and can enjoy pleasant things as well as hardships. At the same time, he also experiences a kind of higher joy that has its origin in chivalric courage to handle the hardest and the most difficult things bravely, honestly, and faithfully.

Evening, night, and morning play a particularly important role in training oneself for the joyfulness of life. Before going to sleep one should lightly review all the experiences of the day, rejoice in what has been joyful, and say to yourself: “Tomorrow it will be even more joyful” – and reflect on the means of realizing joy. The night also plays an important role here. Let us say that a man in the middle of the night wakes up in the middle of the night. He puts a smile on his face and says: I can still sleep, that’s great. Tomorrow I’ll get out of bed fresh as a fish. And one of the first thoughts he makes room for in his mind is the “statement,” “It’s going to be a beautiful, joyful day today” – and he’ll repeat it cheerfully when he needs to until the thought or the resolve pervades his whole being.

The question of whether such a thing is possible at all has every justification. The answer, however, can only be negative if one does not believe in the existence of an absolute Being who is just as good as omnipotent. Only if one has the opportunity to lean on it will one discover the source of “living water” – joyfulness in the sense we have described it: as a long-term, lifelong quality or virtue. For it is something else to shout enthusiastically “Joy!” when someone (or life) asks something pleasant of us, and it is something else to say in the face of unpleasant things or obligations, “It will be cheerful,” to be positive despite it all, and to turn to God by saying, “Yes, with joy, Father,” or “It will be joyful, Lord, For you and together with you all things will be well. Everything is a breeze for you.”

We have said that cheerfulness is primarily a matter of the heart, but it radiates outward as well. This brightness may be feigned here and there, but never for long. It follows that people who radiate joy as a permanent way of life are a kind of intuitive, though unspoken, unstressed evidence of belief in Providence. Joy does faith credibility – and conversely, a sustained lifestyle of joyfulness in faith is verified. A sullen, sad Christian is proof of the falsity of the “glad tidings” or the gospel, for he thus noiselessly, without a word, unintentionally, but all the more effectively, confirms the unbeliever in his conviction, that Christianity is incapable of bringing salvation.

Why are we so interested in the person of John the Baptist even today? We read: “Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist” (Mt 17:13). This took place after the transfiguration on the mountain, where Peter, James, and John saw Moses and Elijah talking to Jesus. And when they came down from the mountain, the disciples asked Jesus: “Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” (Matthew 17:10). The Jews believed that Elijah would come before the Messiah. The Lord Jesus confirms this opinion but declares John the Baptist to be Elijah, who had already fulfilled Elijah’s mission for that time. We know about John the Baptist and what the angel Gabriel said to Zacharias when he was offering a sacrifice in the temple.

The words “in the spirit of Elijah” mean that John will speak with the same determination against the sins of the people and especially against the sins of their leaders, as Elijah once did when he spoke against the pagan queen Jezebel and her pagan priests. With the same zealous spirit, John will admonish people to repentance. And John fulfilled this angel’s prediction. He seduced Philip’s brother’s wife Herodias and lived with her. She could not listen to what John the Baptist allowed to her when he reproached her that she could not live with her husband’s brother. John feared God more like her, therefore he acted truly as a prophet.

It is truly his humility, his dedication to the cause of God when he declared about himself: “After I come one mightier than I” (Luke 3:16). When they asked him if he was the one who was to come, or if they should wait for another, John did not deny and confessed: “I am not the Messiah” (John 1:20).

In this Advent season of preparation for the feast of the Nativity of Jesus Christ, we should also get to know the person of John the Baptist as best as possible. Not how he looked physically, but we should look at the content of his words, which he announced as the forerunner of the Lord Jesus. These words are timely even today. They draw our attention to what is essential in preparing for the feast of the Nativity of the Lord, and what we should not overlook.
When we realize all of this, we should adjust our lives accordingly, which John compares to a road: “Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight” (Mk 1:3b). John’s words sound like a message for us to receive the salvation that he will bring us. The Messiah.

The answer to the gospel should not take long. We must not think for a long time, and make decisions. The time is fast approaching, and the birth of God’s Son is at the door. We ask for the strength to profess our faith and to fulfill our religious duties with all fidelity to God.

Behold, our God is coming! John’s words are significant to us. Let’s not despise John! When we learn to know John, if we preserve his words in the practice of the life of believing Christians, then the world will know us not only by the name that we are believers but above all by our words and deeds.

Even today, let’s start with the proverb: “There has not yet been born one who would suit everyone”. of his fellows: We whistled to you, and you did not dance; we lamented, and you did not weep” (Mt 11:16-17).

Another proverb instructs us as follows: “Whoever wants to fight, always finds a stick”. So it is in this case too, whoever wants to oppose the truth, always finds an excuse to avoid the truth. At that time, no one knew how to speak to the Jews to their heart’s content. , because they did not want to submit to the truth. Christ’s silence and mildness did not suit them. John’s severity did not suit them either.

The deeds of John the Baptist are pleasing to God. John, with his strictness, represented the relentlessness and harshness of the Old Testament, while the Lord Jesus, with his mildness and kindness, represents the good of the New Testament. Both ways were wise and fair. After the feast of the Sending of the Holy Spirit, we can be guided by the Holy Spirit, who helps us with his gifts, if only we ask for them. The seven gifts also include the gift of wisdom and the gift of understanding. We should ask for these gifts so that we do not become like the Jews whom Jesus rebukes.

Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we are to live in the constant presence of God and fulfill his will, which is hidden in his commands and words. Our lives will grow and be enriched daily for the future reward that we all long for and that God will personally give us on the day of our meeting. We are not all the same. We have to know our pros and cons. To consider the circumstances in which we live so that we can fulfill the will of God. Not everyone who has healthy ears can listen correctly and well. For this, he needs goodwill, but also a motive to enrich him. People often approach life like children approach entertainment. And we know that life is often a harsh reality. A child does not pay bills for fun. Our life will one day be subject to strict control, where every mindset will be revealed, and where every manifestation of our common will and reason will be evaluated. We know that when a child is immersed in a game, he devotes himself to it with such enthusiasm,

What does this mean for us? If we approach our duties as believing Christians with a sincere heart, we will share them with someone or something, so even the difficulties will become easier and our meeting with God in our duties, we will not take as a burden, a burden, but it will turn into something, which will bring satisfaction both mentally and physically.

It’s a pity that we lack the purity of a child’s thinking, which does not know falsehood, pretense, hypocrisy, and sin. What impoverishes our life?