Jesus, me and the common good ...

Friday, Nov 30, 2012. Let us have a look into how Jesus is involved in the common good, and how he wants his church to be involved.

Forgiveness and Reconciliation …

First, with his death at the cross Jesus offers God's forgiveness to all people. He offers reconciliation with God in his name. The apostle Paul phrases this in his letter to the Romans: who believes in him, is forgiven. Romans 8: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. It is the basis for any common good, to be forgiven. It is the basis for all other things, to be reconciled with God.

On the basis of God's forgiveness we are asked to forgive ourselves. We are asked to build our life on reconciliation and forgiveness. We are asked to build bridges. The pope has been called “pontifex maximus”, the strong bridge builder. But all Christians are asked to be these bridge builder, in the name of Jesus! In his strength. In his spirit.

We are called to be his disciples. Faith is not just some abstract thing. It is concrete work. It is life, here and now. It is decisions. It is choices. It is dedication, getting involved, finding solutions, working for him and for the others. Faith is a whole life, a life filled by his spirit, a life in his presence, a life with and for him.

I am working for the common good …

We are all gifted with many talents. We are gifted with things, we can do some things better than anyone else. Of course, there are also many other things, we cannot do so well. We are made to be with another, to be a team. If everyone does, what he can do best, and everyone supports the others, collaborates, helps, keeps his or her eyes open … then we will be able to do great things.

We are called to work for the common good. We are called to take up responsibility for our environment, near and far. We are called to be like Jesus, who took responsibility for the whole world, for every single person. He died for them all, for you and for me as well. We are called to follow him, and find our own role in God's agenda, our own contributions to his great reconciliation project.

I believe that the church can be fantastic, when it works and lives in his spirit. The community of believers, in services but also around it, in bible study groups, in various activities and in our daily life, can be a driving force for the common good. Let us continue to pursue this path, the path of Jesus, and see his miracles happen in our days. (Roland Potthast) ... more texts