Matthew 16:13-20

 
It is easy to say that I am a baptized Christian, a follower of Jesus.  But if Jesus truly is the Son of the Living God, and the Redeemer of the world, as St. Peter stated, and I am claiming allegiance to Him, how does that impact my life?  If the “One of Great Grace” (see Discourse about Little Faith in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress) is truly the Saviour of all that is, including humankind, He has, He does, and He will transform cowardice into courage, despair into hope, despondency into lively action, and ultimately death into life.  Do I real-ly know this? Do I real-ly live into this truth? It does us good to take time to pause and hear the Master ask us who we know Him to be.  When Jesus pulls me off road to the shoulder of my journey, or perhaps even meets up with me at a rest stop, and asks me The Question: Who do you say I am…?”, what will my answer be? Will I answer resentfully, ‘what do you want?’ or ‘what’s wrong?’ Or will I see his clear eyes and wise face, and answer as Peter did, “You are  the Christ, the Son of the living God”?   Do I believe beyond the shadow of doubt that Jesus is the Redeemer of all things, (i.e. the Christ, the Messiah) and the Son of the Living God? Do I bring this into being -or real-ize –this with my life?  Christ Jesus, help me real-ize that you are the Son of the Living God, the Saviour of all.     
 
Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.  (Peter quoted in John 6:67)
 
Look for Christ and you will find him.  And in Him, everything else.
C. S. Lewis
 
Soli ad gloriam Dei
Gospel Mystery of the Day on FaceBook &www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca
 
 
 

 
Matthew 19:16-22
 
After having a great spiritual conversation with good meeting of minds with Jesus, a rich young man walked away in grief, pondering Jesus’ counsel:  If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.  I wonder what happened to this man – did he end up selling his possessions, to shift his wealth from earth to heaven, and then become an ardent follower of the Lord? Grief is a very powerful emotion.  Any loss can knock us flat, and when a fresh loss couples with memories of past losses, the grief we experience at every turn of our lives can be overwhelming.  But the points of grief, sharpened as they are by the dull ache of constant longing, and harvested through prayer,  can be the grist in the mill of life that can result in new life choices that lead ultimately to our healing and holiness, a.k.a. the fulfillment of our lives. Hopefully this was the young man’s outcome.  Will I continue to prick myself with the pointy spikes of grief and like the rich young man, walk away from Christ Jesus? Or will I have the courage to ponder the griefs of my life and so uncover the mercy and the will of God for my being? Or Holy Spirit of Jesus, help me ponder points of grief to find healing and holiness.
 
Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.  (Peter quoted in John 6:67)
 
A person who prays lives out the mystery of existence, and a person who does not pray scarcely exists.
St. Sharbel Makhluf
 
Soli ad gloriam Dei
Gospel Mystery of the Day on FaceBook &www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca
 
 

 
Matthew 18:15-20

 
As human beings we are made in the image of God, and so what we do and say does have an impact on the world, for evil or for good.  Jesus told his disciples that what they bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever they loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Unfortunately, I often get it backwards – I bind God’s good by ignoring or minimizing the gifts I receive from His hand, by complaining about the details of  my life, or by attempting to control others’ behaviours, and then loose or set free deceitful ideas and issues with words that are born of my own anxiety, discontent and folly. But I do always have the option to bind evil, by not giving into despair and destruction, and then to loose or set free the goodness of God, by practising the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, fortitude, piety and fear of the Lord.  Today will I choose to bind evil by not giving into expressions of anger, angst and bitterness?  Will I instead set loose the glory of God with expressions of the fruits of the Holy Spirit: joy, peace, love, faithfulness, hope, generosity, kindness, humility and self-control? Holy Spirit of Jesus, help me bind evil and set free God’s goodness. 
 
Come and see what God has done; he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.  (Psalm 66:6)
 
A person who prays lives out the mystery of existence, and a person who does not pray scarcely exists.
St. Sharbel Makhluf
 
Soli ad gloriam Dei
Gospel Mystery of the Day on FaceBook &www.gospelmysteryoftheday.ca