This week was the final session of the Fall Reflection Series I’m offering at the University of St. Thomas Law School, titled, “Jesus Speaks.” The series seeks to deepen our appreciation of fundamental Christian teachings drawn from the words of Christ.
The title of this week’s session was Growing in Discipleship. My talk focused on the Jesus’ commissioning of the disciples prior to his Ascension to “go out to the whole world and proclaim the Gospel.” I shared on several themes that came up in my reflection on the various Gospel and Acts accounts of that commissioning: first, the central idea that as Christians we live for the live of the world; second, that Jesus’ charge to his disciples changed over time as Jesus grew in his own understanding of his ministry and the challenges that the broader charge raises; third, the impact of Jesus’ ascension on our task. By the third I mean both that Jesus death, resurrection and Ascension mean that we go out and preach the Gospel, not in fear and uncertainty, but knowing that Jesus has already won the victory for us, and that we go out with the power of the Spirit within us.
You can find the recording of the talk I gave this week at St. Thomas here (The podcast runs for 20:22.) You can find here a copy of the prayer material for this week
Creo en Dios! 