By Kathleen M. Alford

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Building Our Faith on the Solid Rock of Jesus’ Words to Us

Recall what Jesus preached as his concluding illustration in the Sermon of the Mount. He said, “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined” (Matthew 7:24-27). Let us be reassured, then, that relying on the words of Jesus Christ provides a firm foundation on which to build our faith.

Testing the Foundation: Is Reincarnation True?

Let’s consider an example that tests the firm foundation that the Four Gospels provide for our faith:

I had a friend who claimed that reincarnation was a fact of our existence. He even insisted that St. John the Baptist was a reincarnation of the prophet, Elijah. Yet, when the Pharisees sent a delegation to question John about his identity, he first denied being the Messiah. So, they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” John’s answer? “I am not.” (John 1:21). 

But wait a minute! What about what Jesus said about John the Baptist? Jesus clearly stated about him, “He is Elijah who is to come” (Matthew 11:14). Does this prove reincarnation is real?

Not at all! Jesus knew and acknowledged that the Jews had been expecting the historical Elijah to come on the scene to prepare the world for the coming of the Messiah. Why? Because of the prophecies of of the prophet, in chapters 3 and 4 of Malachi. So, Jesus set them straight. First, Jesus quoted Malachi 3:1, “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me,” but then identified John as that messenger (Matthew 11:10). Jesus went on to say, “And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Jesus was explaining that the meaning of the earlier prophecy was something different from what they had thought! The prophecy had been saying that a messenger will come before the Messiah came who would be like Elijah and would preach in the spirit and power of Elijah. But he was not the historical Elijah.

Where do we see the historical Elijah with Jesus? At the Transfiguration! Remember that Jesus took apostles Peter, James, and John (not John the Baptist) up on the mountain, where Jesus was transfigured and accompanied by Moses and Elijah (Matthew 17:1-8). Jesus wasn’t accompanied by a person who was a combination of Elijah and John the Baptist. No, Elijah and John the Baptist were two separate people with two separate missions and two separate destinies.

Resurrection vs. Reincarnation

Nevertheless, there are people who point to the scene at Caesarea Philippi to claim that the Jewish people believed in reincarnation. “Who do the crowds say that I am?” Jesus asked His disciples. They responded that people were wondering if He was John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the ancient prophets brought back to life (Luke 9:18-19).

To bring someone back to life is not the same thing as having that person come back as a different person. Looking at the stories of those whom Jesus raised from the dead–Jairus’ daughter, the son of the widow of Nain, and his friend, Lazarus of Bethany–we see that these individuals were not reincarnated. No, they were raised as the people they had been before they died.

Finally, Jesus showed us in the story of the rich, greedy man and the poor beggar, Lazarus, that reincarnation is not the destiny of those who enter eternity. At the end of the story, the rich man was not reincarnated as a lesser being, like a roach or a snake. No, he was sent to eternal torment in hell. On the other hand, Lazarus was not reincarnated as a higher being, like a ruler or an angel, but was sent to his eternal reward in paradise (Luke 16:23).

The bottom line is that nowhere in the Four Gospels does Jesus teach that reincarnation is our destiny. He speaks only of the choice between heaven and hell.

What Jesus Taught about Heaven and Hell

Jesus taught that heaven and hell are real, eternal destinations that we choose by the way we live our lives. He told his disciples, “In my Father’s house are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be (John 14:2-6). In contrast, Jesus spoke of hell as “unquenchable fire” and “outer darkness,” describing it as “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). Hell is not forced on anyone. It is chosen by those who close themselves to God’s love. Never once does Jesus say that the soul will be reincarnated or obliterated. Jesus unequivocally affirmed that souls live on in the state of being what they have chosen.

Faith Question in Today’s News: What Did Jesus Teach about Marriage?

In addition to Jesus’ words about life after death, the Four Gospels record Jesus’ definitive answers to today’s hot-button issues. Sister Lucia dos Santos, a visionary of Fatima, stated that “the final battle between the Lord and the reign of Satan will be about marriage and the family.” When individuals or groups propose varying views of marriage and sexuality, we can turn with confidence to the words of Jesus to know the truth.

Jesus spoke plainly about God’s plan for marriage and sexuality, going back to the beginning in Genesis: “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’? For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate” (Matthew 19:4–6). Thus, Jesus made clear the fundamental structure of human sexuality and marriage as willed by God.

• The sexual binary of male and female was instituted by God.
• Marriage is to be between one man and one woman.
• The marital union is meant to be permanent.
• The two are joined in reality as “one flesh” by God, not by social agreement.
• Divorce is not part of God’s plan. Jesus said, “Because of the hardness of your hearts, Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so” (Matthew 19:8).

Another Question in the News: What Did Jesus Teach about Other Religions?

We hear it said in some circles that all religions lead to salvation, but is it true? Absolutely not!

Jesus made the most exclusive claim in all of human history when He stated, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Jesus did not say that He was a way or a preferred way. He said He was the way. Without Jesus, the gates of heaven are closed to us. There is no alternative route to the Father. Every other religion falls short. Because of this, Jesus issued the Great Commission: “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” (Matthew 28:19-20).

If all religions were equally valid, why would Jesus have sent them into what He told them would be dangerous situations for them? Even more to the point, if all religions lead to salvation, why would Jesus have come to earth? Why would he suffer and die on the cross for the salvation of souls?

While other religions claim to have the truth, all others fall short of the Truth that Jesus Christ preached and lived. In the Old Covenant, Judaism prepared the way for the coming of Jesus, but rejected Him as the promised Messiah. While Islam honors Jesus as a prophet, it denies Jesus’ divinity and His Resurrection, as well as denying the Holy Trinity. Hinduism and Buddhism traditions teach spiritual insights, but they lack the Divine Revelation of the Incarnation, Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the sacramental life of the Church. Atheism and secular humanism explicitly reject the reality of God, but Jesus warned those who reject Him, “Whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:18)

What Did Jesus Teach about Unity?

Jesus said, “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me” (John 17:20–21). Jesus prayed for Christian unity as Trinitarian unity in communion with the Father and the Son through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 

What Did Jesus Teach about Life, Abortion, IVF, and Euthanasia?

Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). In His life and preaching, Jesus affirmed the absolute value of human life from conception to natural death. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus specifically upheld and intensified the Fifth Commandment, which denies the right for one person to murder another. In fact, He taught that every person’s life and dignity are so sacred that even hatred or evil intent toward another is spiritually akin to murder. Jesus said, “You have heard it said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment” (Matthew 5:21).

What Jesus taught about abortion, IVF (results in the non-survival of many embryos), and euthanasia is what He taught about all of life: Life belongs to God and it is sacred. Human life is not ours to dispose of according to our own will or timetable. In the case of euthanasia, the truly loving response is to accompany the suffering one, helping them to carry their cross with love.

What Did Jesus Teach about His Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist?

In Chapter 6 of the gospel of John, Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?”

Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”

The Rest of the Story: Many of His disciples left, but Jesus did not back down.

Then many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?”

Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.”

As a result of this, many [of] his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?”

Simon Peter answered Him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:48-68)

Notice that Jesus did not chase those who left. He didn’t say, “Wait! I only meant what I said symbolically!” No, he let them walk away from the Truth.

The Last Supper — The Promise Fulfilled

At the Last Supper, however, Jesus fulfilled His promise to give His Flesh to eat and His Blood to drink for the life of the world.

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to His disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then He took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:26-28).

The Mass makes Jesus present with us again…Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

What did Jesus Teach about Evangelization?

The Great Commission

Matthew closes his gospel with Jesus giving his disciples the Great Commission:

“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” (Matthew 28:18–20).

Jesus’ Great Commission is not just for the priests and deacons. The Great Commission gives Jesus’ marching order for the entire Church! Indeed, St. Paul asked the Romans, “But how can they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach?” (Romans 10:14). If Jesus is the only way to the Father — and He is — then any Catholic who knows this truth and keeps it to himself is withholding something eternally necessary from those who do not yet know Jesus Christ. That silence is not tolerance or respect. If we truly love others, we will be alert to the opportunities Our Lord gives us to spread lovingly and joyfully the Truth found in the Four Gospels.

With Jesus as the Cornerstone of my faith and the Four Gospels as the foundation of Truth, I am ready to build higher!

Coming up next:

Building Block of the Catholic Faith #3 – The Miraculous Tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe

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