Welcoming Jesus Personally and Proclaiming the Gospel
The conversation was a religious discourse focusing on the significance of Jesus' birth and the transformative power of faith. The speaker emphasized the importance of personal belief in Jesus as more than just an abstract concept, urging listeners to consider how Jesus impacts their lives personally. The discussion also touched on the concept of fraternity and the changes that come with having a unique child, drawing parallels to the broader impact of Jesus' presence in the world. The speaker concluded with an invitation for self-reflection on personal beliefs about Jesus and the challenges in communicating these beliefs to others.
MC: Adam Hohn
Presenter: Joseph Gruber
Deacon: Rick Freedberg
Brought to you By: The Knights of Columbus
Jackson Michigan & Surrounding Area Catholic Parishes
Queen of the Miraculous Medal: https://queenschurch.com/
St John the Evangelist: https://saintjohnjackson.org/
St Mary Star of the Sea: https://stmaryjackson.com/
St Joseph Oratory: https://saintjohnjackson.org/new-here/st-joseph-the-worker-oratory/
Our Lady of Fatima: http://www.fatimaparish.net/
St Rita: http://www.stritacatholicparish.com/
St Catherine: https://stcatherinelaboureconcord.org/
Audio Trasnscription
participantOne:(3199-28300): Good morning. Good morning. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen. Amen. Direct, O Lord, our actions by thy holy inspiration, and carry them on by thy gracious assistance, that every word and work of ours may begin in thee, and by thee be happily ended, through Christ our Lord. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen. Good morning, everyone. Good morning.
participantOne:(31180-63160): Yeah, I do want to give everybody a kick in the pants this morning. That is true. I think we all need a little bit of a kick. So what do I mean by that? Gentlemen, when we think of fraternity, we can think of a lot of things. We can think about how we all have a common ancestor. We can think about how we have the church as mother and God as our father, and so we are all brothers. We can think about those things.
participantOne:(63819-83720): And that tells us a truth about fraternity. It doesn't necessarily tell us how we should act toward one another. It doesn't really necessarily tell us what we ought to be giving and receiving from one another. And so that's what I want to talk about today. I want to talk about the good news of Jesus Christ.
participantOne:(85660-108160): In less than a week, we will be celebrating Christmas. And one of the things that adults love to do with my kids is ask, what do we celebrate at Christmas? Because they're testing me by testing my kids. They want to see if my kids will say Santa or Jesus's birthday. With my firstborn, when he was like three years old, his answer was Santa.
participantOne:(108900-145519): and I realized I failed him. With my four-year-old, she was asked this time around, and she thought about it for a while, and eventually she got out that it was Jesus' birthday. Success. Gentlemen, I have a little bit of experience in this. Having a baby changes everything. I'm seeing a few nods. Having a baby changes everything. Having a unique baby changes even more.
participantOne:(146340-168220): So when we had Philip, our firstborn, that changed everything. It changed how I related to my wife. It changed how I related to everyone else in the whole world, because I was a father, not just myself anymore, and not just a husband. It changed everything. It changed every single relationship, him coming into the world.
participantOne:(169140-196420): And then having a unique child changes things even more. When my daughter Gisela was born, she was very clearly unique. We didn't know quite what the uniqueness was for about a year, but she is a very unique young lady. And that has changed all sorts of decisions about what we've done, where we've lived, how we've traveled, how people respond to us. Having a unique child changes everything.
participantOne:(197460-228440): Do any of you know Benjy Borelli? Some of you do. He's a parishioner at St. John the Evangelist. He is involved in the community. He is the general agent for the Knights of Columbus. So in a certain respect, he is Adam's boss. He's an incredible man, wonderful man. And they already had, by the world's definition, a relatively large family. And they just had another baby in July, and this baby
participantOne:(228680-257300): It's very unique. She has Down syndrome and she's been in the hospital since July. Having that baby changed everything. Her mother has been in the hospital essentially the entire time and there is no clear end in sight for them. Having a baby changes everything. Having a unique baby changes things even more.
participantOne:(259520-292620): And when you think about the most unique child, the Christ child, he changed the world. What difference did Jesus' coming make? When we think about that 2,000 years ago, we think about Mary and the trajectory of her life. Her whole life became orbiting around her son. When the shepherds heard the good news that the angels proclaimed, they came and saw the Christ child wrapped in swaddling clothes, laid in a manger.
participantOne:(293040-333020): and then they left proclaiming what they saw to people from henceforth. When the Magi came, scripture says that they left by a different way. And commentators throughout the centuries have said that indicates that their lives were profoundly changed. They left by a different way. They were living by a different way. When Jesus enters into the world, everything changes. He is a polarizing figure.
participantOne:(334200-361740): When Jesus enters the world today, the question has to be asked, what difference does he make in my life and in your life? Can I, let me, raise your hand if you've heard of C.S. Lewis. Okay, people have heard of C.S. Lewis. He wrote The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Chronicles of Narnia, and he's written a whole bunch of other things. One of the books that he wrote was Mere Christianity. Okay.
participantOne:(362140-390840): Raise your hand if you've either heard of or read in your Christianity. Okay, it's a popular book for a good reason. He's awesome. C.S. Lewis is great at relating truths of the faith. But there's one thing that he talks about. He talks about how Jesus is either who he says he is, or he's a liar, or he's a lunatic. And that's true, right? Anytime I speak, I'm either speaking the truth, or I'm lying, or I'm crazy.
participantOne:(391360-425840): That's just generally anytime anyone speaks. So it's true, right, he's either the guy that he says he is, or he's crazy, or he's lying. But I think sometimes we leave it in a sort of academic, abstract kind of notion. It's like if somebody came up to you and he said that he was a surgeon, you'd be like, I probably believe you. The odds are decently good that you wouldn't pretend to be a surgeon. And then you'd go about your day.
participantOne:(427180-460020): But if he came to you and he said, I am your surgeon, I am the one who is going to operate on you, suddenly that actually makes a bigger difference whether or not we believe what he says. If he says, I'm a cardiac surgeon, great, you win in terms of like at a cocktail party, you have the most impressive job, good job. And now I'll feel worse about my job, great. And that'll make a difference. But if he says, I am your cardiac surgeon,
participantOne:(461160-499020): Suddenly, what he says and what he does matters a whole lot more to me. So the question really is, do we know who Jesus is for us in particular? Do we think that he's the Lord in a general sense, that he's God in an abstract way? Or do we think that he actually came to make a difference in my life and in your life? Because insofar as we believe that he's just the God out there,
participantOne:(500340-530280): we might introduce him to other people and say, hey, this is Jesus, he's the savior. In the same way that we'd say, here's Bill, he's a cardiac surgeon. Versus, this is Bill, the guy who operated on my heart and saved my life, who allowed me to live the life that I was supposed to live, that I was not able to live until he intervened, the one who saved me,
participantOne:(531819-563620): There's a difference if you're at the cocktail party with the cardiac surgeon who's just a cardiac surgeon or your cardiac surgeon. There's a difference between whether you understand that he's your cardiac surgeon in the future or that he's your cardiac surgeon right now. And there's a difference between whether or not we've actually let him in to do work. Do you see how that's different? I think oftentimes when we talk about Jesus, he's that guy over there.
participantOne:(564300-594500): He's the cardiac surgeon in the room who has the most impressive job title. There's a sense of trepidation, a sense of fear when we realize he actually wants in, that he actually wants to do work on us, that there is work to be done on us that's actually for our good. There's a sense of joy and relief after work has been done, right? To be able to, for the first time,
participantOne:(595000-623980): if I've been having heart problems and I have trouble going upstairs, to be able to go upstairs again and not feel like my heart is trying to, you know, kill me. To be able to do the activities that I most desire to do, to live the life that I most want to live. There's a difference between whether or not we've allowed Jesus to change us or not. And that changes how we talk about him. And I think a lot of us talk about Jesus
participantOne:(624180-659820): as the guy at the cocktail party who has the impressive title. And there is yet a different way to talk about Jesus. It's not just he's the guy who could do work on me, or has done work on me, or is planning to do more work on me, but he's someone who actually could improve your life too. I think this is difficult for us as individuals in an individualistic society to understand, right?
participantOne:(660319-692360): that he is the savior of all of mankind in particular cases, in each and every case. I'm going to read from the Catechism. Who knows about the Catechism? So the Church has put forth catechisms throughout its history. There was one out after the Council of Trent. This is the catechism that came out, what, like 30 years after Vatican II.
participantOne:(692819-724560): They're both good catechisms. There have been more individual catechisms, like the Baltimore Catechism. Some of you maybe grew up memorizing things from the Baltimore Catechism. Yeah. It's good stuff. But I really like these opening paragraphs of the catechism. So I'm going to read a little bit. God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness, freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life.
participantOne:(725459-750580): For this reason, at every time and at every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and Savior.
participantOne:(750959-785620): In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children, and thus heirs of his blessed life. Catch that last line. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children, and thus heirs of his blessed life. Gentlemen, we celebrate the birth of Jesus in a little less than a week. But with that celebration is also the celebration of our own rebirth.
participantOne:(786880-828260): that we are called to be adopted children of God. Having a baby changes everything, and God wants you to be his child. He wants everything to change. He wants every relationship to change because you are in the world. You are also a child of God, born into this world. Paragraph two. So that this call should resound throughout the world, Christ sent forth the apostles he had chosen
participantOne:(828500-853600): commissioning them to proclaim the gospel. Quote, Go therefore and make disciples of all 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 lo, I am with you always to the close of the age. Strengthened by this mission, the apostles went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it.
participantOne:(854920-882540): I think another thing when we talk about the gospel, when we talk about Jesus, is we often talk about him like we're at the cocktail party and he's on the other side of the room. Like, oh, I want to tell you about this Jesus guy. You should really meet him. He's over there. And that's not actually how scripture puts it. That's not how Jesus put it. He said, lo, I am with you always until the end of the age.
participantOne:(882959-914800): from Acts of the Apostles, the apostles went forth and preached everywhere while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it. Also back in paragraph one, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. When we talk to people about Jesus, he is there. He is here. Right now, he is actually closer to you than you are to yourself. He knows you better than you know yourself. He knows the real you.
participantOne:(915280-949820): Not the you that you think you are, the one that is burdened by sin, the one that is burdened by all of these flaws, the one that identifies by all of these things that are not actually you. He knows the you that is resplendent with glory, which is the real you. That's who you are. You are made for unending glory. Paragraph 3. Those who, with God's help, have welcomed Christ's call and freely responded to it
participantOne:(950140-982840): Next page. So,
participantOne:(983140-1017020): This is a question to ask every once in a while. Have I welcomed Christ's call and have I freely responded to it? Because if I have, I am then urged on by the love of Christ to proclaim the good news everywhere in the world. So that's a good test. Do I know what his call is and have I said yes to it? Today's gospel is the Annunciation. The angel Gabriel came to Mary and gave her a calling. She freely responded to it.
participantOne:(1017520-1049820): And that changed everything. Do we live that way? Because if we do, we want to share the good news. Not abstract news. News of our life being changed. News of Jesus being here in our midst, wanting to do more, both in us and through us, for other people. So do we think that the gospel is good news for us?
participantOne:(1054320-1088040): And then do we think the gospel is only good news for the people who are already believing it? Or do we know that the gospel is good for all of mankind? Which includes our neighbors, it includes our wife, it includes our parents, it includes our children. It includes even fill in the blank of people you've given up on. That Jesus has something for them. That even if we don't know what that is, he does.
participantOne:(1088800-1127060): To have faith that he actually is a good and loving God, a merciful and forgiving God, and a much better heart surgeon than we give him credit for. There's a philosophic principle that we cannot give what we do not have. Have you heard this before? Have you ever tried to give something that you didn't have? You can't do it. I've checked with philosophers. I've pressed them on it. What if I really want to give something that I don't have? You can't do it.
participantOne:(1128940-1167280): I'm forced to believe it. We can only give what we have received. We can only give what we have received. So, for a few minutes, we're going to take some time to do a little bit of an inventory. I can guarantee something for you. A couple of guarantees. One, none of us in this room have said yes completely to God. There is still yet more that we could say yes to him about. And two, that's okay.
participantOne:(1167900-1195920): The only person who did make a complete and total yes to God was the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is blessed among women, right? We say that because we're like, that, she did it. She did the thing that we were trying to do. She did the yes. She made herself open in a way that we want to. So, like, we know that. Every time we pray the Hail Mary, we're saying, we know we haven't yet made a complete yes.
participantOne:(1196280-1232100): We know that there is still yet more to be surrendered. We know that there is still yet more to be received. So this is a quick little inventory. What do we have to give to other people? Because if we don't have anything, then that makes sense why we don't give anything. So we're going to take a few minutes. There are three questions on a piece of paper. I'm going to ask you to take a few minutes for each one. If you want to pass down the paper and some pens.
participantOne:(1239240-1271400): Did anybody get one? The first question is, if someone asked you what you believe about Jesus and his gospel, what would you say? Not what you think you ought to say, but seriously, what would you say if somebody asked you what do you believe about this Jesus guy? What do you believe about his good news? Second, if someone asked you why you believe what you believe,
participantOne:(1271879-1312600): What would you tell them? And then the third, what are the things about Jesus and his gospel that still confuse you? So those are the three questions. Give each one a couple minutes. I'm going to sit down and do this too. This is not just an exercise for other people. I wanted to do this exercise today. That's why we're doing it. I want to do this. I'm going to get a simple question and then I'm going to go over.
participantOne:(1313560-1797480): Oh, they're on the paper. I just didn't want people to get ahead of themselves. So I had them upside down. I'm angered.
participantOne:(1798040-1845320): Some people are still writing, it looks like. Is that true? So, keep writing if you're still writing. But a couple of questions for you. With the first question, if someone asked you what you believe about Jesus and his gospel, what would you say? You guys wrote something down. Is this something you've actually communicated to someone else before?
participantOne:(1846000-1884540): Have you actually told someone what you believe about Jesus? With the second one, if someone asks you why you believe, is this something you've actually communicated to someone else? And if so, have you done this recently? And with the third one, what are the things about Jesus and his gospel that still confuse you? Have you sat before the Lord and talked to him about these things? There are plenty of things that still confuse me. There are plenty of things...
participantOne:(1885220-1919340): About my life. About my relationships. Where I don't see what the next step is. And sometimes, honest to goodness guys, I avoid Jesus. Precisely because I don't understand. Because I'm confused. And that's the opposite of what should happen. We should allow our confusion to come before the Lord. But it's really easy to have things that confuse us become wedges. Dividers between us and God. So, yeah.
participantOne:(1920120-1945560): My invitation for you guys is to keep plugging away at these questions. The answers that we have for these over time should get better, right? Like we should have better answers today than we did yesterday, this year than we did last year. But more so, we should learn how to communicate these things.
participantOne:(1946180-1978380): to our wives, to our parents, to our siblings, to our children, to our neighbors, to our coworkers, to the people in the pew near us, to the people in the grocery store, to the people at the barber shop. Yesterday I got a haircut. I said hello to a guy, and he started telling me about his divorce and how miserable he is. And then he got up and got a haircut, and I didn't share anything about Jesus with him. Do you know how ridiculous that is?
participantOne:(1979840-2003100): I'm a ridiculous man. I am not the evangelist I ought to be yet. After the fact, I was kicking myself. And you know a funny thing? Jesus still loves me. I think it's a hilarious thing. I know. The punchline didn't land. That's fine. I am. I am human.
participantOne:(2004160-2017514): All right, take a few more minutes with these questions. Also get some more coffee. There are still a couple of donuts and bananas and bagels left, but then we'll break out into small groups in just a moment. Thank you. Thank you.
