A joyful pathway to walk in the Spirit - (BJRE003)

 

A joyful pathway to walk in the Spirit 

(By Dr. Edward Edezhath - Published in Kairos Magazine in 2017) 

“I like Jesus Youth because they pray a lot,” a sister was trying to express her appreciation for the movement. But I thought that was not the best way to describe this movement. Of course, prayer is the first of the six pillars of Jesus Youth, and prayer meetings and lively forms of prayer make the movement quite distinct. Yet if we miss the word ‘mission,’ the movement's core is lost. Jesus Youth is a movement focused on bringing the joy of the Gospel to today’s generation and challenging them to live a missionary lifestyle. Without the Holy Spirit, no genuine mission is possible. 

Where and how does one live a life of mission? It all begins when the Holy Spirit comes alive in you. Every active Jesus Youth will have a little or big story to narrate when he or she embarks on a life of mission. Personally, for me, a big leap forward happened with a weekend seminar just before I joined college, and the newfound spirit was sustained and deepened in a friendly and active weekly fellowship group. This friendship circle and its gatherings taught me to ‘walk in the Spirit’: to be joyful, to learn prayer habits, to really belong to a loving fellowship, and to step out on a mission. 

A Nursery to Walk in the Spirit

Jesus often used the image of a river or water to refer to the work of the Holy Spirit. He speaks about two important dynamics of it. Firstly, you come to the river and drink, and then you become a spring from which a river flows out for the benefit of others. “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink . . . Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water” (Jn 7:37, 38). This twin dynamic is at the core of Jesus’s Youth. 

A thirsty reception of the refreshing drink from the Lord is a turning point in a person’s life. Then it becomes a daily habit, taking time to the ‘green pastures.' That thirst is also an ever-widening search for the immeasurable abundance of inner life that only the Lord can give, especially through active participation in the life of His Body, the Church. Specifically, the first three of the six pillars of Jesus Youth lifestyle, namely, prayer, the word of God, and Sacraments, become healthy habits for a thirsty reception of the Spirit. 

One of the dangers of spiritual life can be self-centeredness. Gradually, a kind of spiritual selfishness can creep in and occupy the center of my inner life. When people take spirituality only as a way to get material benefits and personal success, is it not a sign of such selfishness? On the contrary, a measure of your progress in your walk with the Spirit is the love flowing out of your life. It can’t be in small measure, but ‘rivers of living water’ flowing from life. If someone asks why he or she should be active in a movement like Jesus Youth, the answer would be ‘to receive help to be an active Christian who allows the Spirit to flow out effectively’. In the movement, the final 3 pillars focus on this missionary commitment. A Jesus Youth fellowship is a very effective tool to challenge a person towards a fruitful life. This outflow of the mission is firstly in effective witnessing and finally in the commitment to the service to the needy and poor. In brief, the movement becomes an effective training ground, helping a person to grow in spirit and to go out on a mission.

Led by the Spirit in richness and joy

In a college where the Jesus Youth Campus Network is active, a professor started quizzing me on the movement’s secret of making even those extremely shy youth into such motivated missionaries. I couldn’t easily put into secular language the real secret, so I explained the simple steps of preparation and sending forth these ministry leaders. I wanted to tell him that Jesus Youth helps people open their lives to an active life in Christ and the accompaniment of the Holy Spirit. Thus, they discover a marvelous new life, which is a very rich and fruitful one. 

Nowadays, they speak of best practices in institutions. A best practice is a method or approach generally accepted as superior to any alternatives. It will be interesting to reflect on the Jesus Youth best practices in the area of walking in the Spirit. The movement has existed for over thirty years, and there are proven ways in which it helps people live active lives in the Spirit. 

What are some of these best practices in Jesus Youth? 

  1. A person’s life in the movement begins with a walk through an Encounter, an event that helps the person open to a new life in the Spirit, often through a Life in the Spirit Seminar or LSS. 
  2.  Invariably, this leads to a good friendship with a few Jesus Youth. Without such spirit-filled friendships, a person ceases to be part of the movement. 
  3.  Some of these friends introduce this neophyte to the lifestyle in the Spirit, for easy reference called the Six Pillars, 
  4. The person enters a lively system of joyful fellowships, the heart of which is lively singing and friendly and playful chat. 
  5.  The Word of God is another key ingredient facilitating maturity in Spirit. Encouragement and example inspire a keen interest in delving into the Word and sharing it with others. 
  6.  There are various avenues of faith formation in the movement, which, among other things, help the person understand and exercise the Charisms of the Holy Spirit. 
  7.  Motivation for mission is the heart of the movement, which, when undertaken with ample guidance of the movement and clear context of the Church, becomes the best bet for maturity in the Spirit. 

The 10th prayer in the collection of Jesus Youth Prayers includes the famous poem of St Francis of Assisi. In it, he praises God for Sister Water, who is so humble, precious, and clean. Like the water, the Holy Spirit moves gently and beautifully, inspiring people to smile joyfully, reach out with a touch of love, and do great things in such informal ways. Where the Jesus Youth movement is at its best, simple men and women moved by the Spirit build God’s kingdom with tenderness and joy. 

= Pointers for Reflection =
1. How has the 'twin dynamic of water' worked in your life?
2. How do you balance 'bringing people to Christ' and 'sending them forth' in your group or ministry?
3. Discuss how 'mission' transforms persons and groups.
4. In Jesus Youth groups that you know, how far are these best practices operative?

============
To read in Kairos - https://www.jykairosmedia.org/post/jy-glimpse-edward


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