I have been in seminary formation for about seven to eight years now. Many times, I have been asked, “Who is Jesus to me?” My answer remains the same. Jesus is my friend, my best friend. But what do I mean by that? What is it like to be best friends with Jesus? I believe that answering these questions entails one’s deeper relationship with the Lord.

I have a best friend who is a nurse and also a mother. We have known each other for a long time. We both know our ups and downs in life. We share in each other’s successes and failures, and even our pains. Her sadness is my sadness. My joy is her joy too. There is a sense of oneness in us that keeps our friendship alive. However, this relationship is not just about knowing each other. In this relationship, there is a kind of active participation. I am becoming one with her, and she is in me. This is what made our friendship strong.

I believe that this is the same as Jesus’ relationship with His disciples. It is a relationship of active witnessing. In this active witnessing, the disciples shared in Jesus’ mission of propagating God’s Kingdom by doing good works and living out His teachings, thus expanding Jesus’ works of mercy and compassion.

This is the core message of the Gospel today: to know Jesus means to be an active witness of Him. It means sharing in Jesus’ mission, being one with Him in the works of mercy and compassion, and becoming an extension of His love.

By: Sem. Niñonel Setosta

Today’s Gospel

Luke 9:18-22

Once when Jesus was praying in solitude,
and the disciples were with him,
he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah;
still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’”
Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.”
He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.

He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.”