"If you make my word your home, you will indeed be my disciples, you will learn the truth, and the truth will make you free."
Gospel of John
If we look at the beginning of John's Gospel, the first line is: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
Jesus' invitation to us above (where he asked us to make His Word our home) really means to make Him our home, to make God our home. Home implies a place where we are the most comfortable, a place where we can kick off our shoes and relax, a place where we want to be if we're not feeling well, a place beyond pretense.
Whenever I go away on a trip, one of the experiences I like the best is that of coming home, getting back where I feel most connected with myself and the reality around me. When we discover our home in Christ, then we discover what He means by true discipleship. We discover the truth that sets us free.
In the "New Evangelization" process, one of the five building blocks identified by our Archbishop is witnessing to our faith. I like what the Archbishop says about a witness when he compares it to a witness in a court case. He says that a witness is not the judge. A witness is not a policeman or the arresting officer. A witness is one who is called to give testimony as to what he or she has seen, has heard or has experienced.
A witness to our faith in Christ is the same thing. A witness is one who is called to give testimony to what he or she has seen, has heard or experienced. A witness is not there to judge or to provide judgement. A witness is not there to catechize. A witness is there to share, in some small way, their journey with Christ, their call to be a disciple, the experience of making Christ his or her home.
We can do this in two ways: in the words that we share and in the lives that we live. Both are equally important.
As we open ourselves to be a witness to Christ, we become lighter and happier, less obsessed with our own personal problems. We create more space for others. Think about the people around you: our friends, co-workers, the men and women we see on the way to work. By cultivating a desire to share our faith in Christ, we are opening ourselves to bringing peace and benefits to all those we encounter. Our joy attracts them to us, and they feel a sense of calm and happiness in our presence, just as one smile can light up many other faces. This can spread to our community, our environment, and to the whole world.
If we manage to do something good for others, even for a few seconds, we ultimately experience a feeling of great joy. This is not an abstract theory, but a simple statement of fact of what we have all experienced at one time or another. This can happen as we make out home in Christ.
