What if Lent Could Rekindle Your Faith? Exploring the Kerygma
Life can take us on unexpected paths, and sometimes our faith journey can feel like it’s taken a detour. If you’ve found yourself distant from your faith, or if you’re simply curious about exploring it again, this Lenten season offers a gentle invitation to reconnect. These daily reflections focus on the Kerygma, the core message of Christianity – a message of love, hope, and new beginnings. We’ll be exploring eight key “Acts” of God’s story, from creation to our present call to partnership with Him. There’s no pressure, no judgment, just an invitation to consider a different perspective and perhaps rediscover a connection you thought was lost.
The Kerygma
At the heart of the Kerygma lies the core belief that God, out of boundless love and mercy, desires the salvation of all humanity. To achieve this, God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, into the world. Jesus, through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven overcame sin and death, offering humanity the path to eternal life. After ascending to Heaven, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to empower His Church to continue His mission of restoring all creation, inviting all people into a loving relationship with God.
“At the Table of Love and Mission”
John 13:21-33, 36-38
After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in spirit and declared, “Truly, truly I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant.
One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at Jesus’ side.
So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant.
He leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him, “Master, who is it?”
Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.” So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot.
After he took the morsel, Satan entered him. So Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”
None of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him.
Some thought that, since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or to give something to the poor.
So he took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.
When he had left, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, ‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you.”
Simon Peter said to him, “Master, where are you going?”
Jesus answered him, “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, though you will follow later.”
Peter said to him, “Master, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”
Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times.”
Reflection
Tonight, we sit beside Jesus in the quiet, flickering shadows of the Upper Room. The air is thick with the scent of oil, bread, and unspoken tension. And still, Jesus chooses to speak tenderly, to reveal himself vulnerably, to give himself completely. He looks around at his beloved friends—not strangers, not servants, but friends—and speaks words that pierce the soul. One of you will betray me. One of you will deny me. And yet, he remains—steadfast in love, unwavering in mercy.
Holy Thursday is not just the eve of suffering; it is the eve of profound intimacy. Jesus, knowing all that is to come, invites us to recline with him, to receive his love, and to face the truth of our own hearts. Like Judas, we too have our moments of betrayal—times when we choose our own will over God’s. Like Peter, we have moments when fear eclipses our love, and we deny the One who calls us friend.
And still, Jesus offers himself. He kneels. He serves. He feeds. He loves.
This is the night where we remember that Jesus does not wait for us to be perfect before calling us into his mission. He calls us now—in our brokenness, in our weakness, in our frailty. He reminds us that our Baptism was not just a one-time event, but a lifelong journey into his Paschal Mystery. We were baptized into his death so we might rise with him in new life—and that journey begins again, tonight, as we take our place at the table.
Let tonight’s Gospel press gently on your heart: Can you hear Jesus whispering to you, “Will you follow me?” He knows our weaknesses, and still he asks. This is the beauty of the Kerygma—the love story of a God who, desiring the salvation of all, draws near to each of us and says, “Come with me. Be part of my mission. Help me restore all things.”
So let us remember: Our yes matters. Our love matters. Our small daily choices to serve, to forgive, to accompany—these are how we live out our Baptismal vows. On this sacred night, we are not spectators. We are chosen. We are sent.
Prayer
Jesus, my Lord and my friend, tonight you offer me your love even as you face betrayal and denial. Thank you for seeing me, knowing me, and still calling me to your table. Stir in me a desire to follow you more closely, even when the road is steep. Let your love be my strength, and your mission my purpose. Amen.
Action
Tonight, after attending or reflecting on the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, spend 10 minutes in silence with Jesus. Imagine sitting beside him at the table. Ask him, “Lord, what are you asking of me right now in my baptismal mission?” Write down what stirs in your heart—and take one small step to live it out tomorrow.
The Kerygma
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Sharing
Jesus last words on Earth were to his disciples, can be found in Matthew Chap 28 when Jesus told his disciples, “Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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 behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Jesus calls all of us to share in his redemptive mission here on Earth. I would ask you to share this Scripture reflection with your family, your friends and your acquaintances, and then share it with a couple of individuals that you may not be comfortable sharing with, keeping in mind always the words of Jesus, And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age
Author was assisted by AI in the drafting of this Post