Author: admin

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Gospel: Mark 8:34 – 9:1

Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the Gospel will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
What could one give in exchange for his life?
Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words
in this faithless and sinful generation,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of
when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

He also said to them,
“Amen, I say to you,
there are some standing here who will not taste death
until they see that the Kingdom of God has come in power.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”

These are some of the most famous – and difficult – words ever spoken by Jesus.

Some have interpreted his words to mean the heavier the cross, the more difficult life is, the better. Religion is meant to make us miserable.

But they couldn’t be farther from the truth!

Jesus doesn’t want us looking for extra burdens; in fact, he promises to help lift them. So, what kind of cross might he be referring to?

That clumsy, awkward, often hard to carry cross called life. 

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We might re-interpret Jesus’ words to say: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his life, and follow me.”

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So many of us have children to provide for, difficult jobs, illnesses and grief in our hearts.

There’s the added stress of marriage, bills, sobriety, fending off temptation, and trying to grow in virtue.

We don’t have to add any extra weight to our shoulders. 

We simply can’t shrug it off. 

That’s the cross.

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What Jesus asks of us is to be faithful to the tasks we’ve been given in life.

If you’re a parent, provide generously for your children; shower them in love. If you have a job, do the things no one else wants to do – and do it without complaint. 

If you’re a recovering addict, continue on the road to sobriety. If you’re burdened with an illness, endure it in faith. 

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“Whoever wishes to come after me,” Jesus says, “must deny himself, take up his life, and follow me.”

What might that look like for me today?

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Image credits: (1) Truth for Life Blog, Alistair Begg (2) Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Naperville, IL (3) LinkedIn

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Gospel: Mark 8:27-33

Jesus and his disciples set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that I am?”
They said in reply,
“John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets.”
And he asked them,
“But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said to him in reply,
“You are the Christ.”
 
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” 

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Peter first met Jesus on the shores of Galilee. He must’ve felt quite special when the Lord looked at him and said, “Follow me.” Notice Jesus appealed to Peter’s feet, not to his mind, which too often got in the way.

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Sometime thereafter, Peter and the other disciples find themselves drifting aimlessly in a storm on the same Sea of Galilee. Mysteriously, the Lord appears and invites Peter, once again, to follow him.

Stepping out of the boat, Peter uses his feet to walk on water. It isn’t until his mind starts racing that Peter begins to sink. 

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In today’s Gospel, Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” All remain silent, except Peter, who steps forward, proclaiming, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” Because of this giant leap of faith, Peter receives the keys to the kingdom.

The Lord then washes Peter’s feet as a final act of love at the Last Supper before he himself walks to Calvary.

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At Pentecost, Peter begins leading the Church until the year 64, when the emperor Nero sets fire to Rome, placing the blame on Christians.

Fearing for his life, Peter flees the city…until the Lord appears to him, asking, Quo vadis? … “Peter, where are you going?”

Resolved not to deny his Lord again, Peter uses those same feet to turn his body around, leading him back into the burning city, where he is condemned to death by crucifixion. 

Feeling unworthy of dying like his Lord, Peter asks his executioners for final request: to turn him upside down.

There, in the heart of Rome, in the center of worldly power, Peter sees the world like his Master did – topsy turvy, upside down, right-side up. 

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Those feet that once accepted the call, “Follow me,” have taken their final step. Those same feet that sank fearfully into the Sea of Galilee are turned upward in hope, pointing to where his heart now belongs – the heavens. 

There, on that awkward, quickly assembled cross, Peter preaches his final sermon – not with words, but with his life. He fought the good fight. He ran the race to the finish. He kept the faith.

Using my own two feet, how might I follow the Lord, like Peter did, today?

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Image credits: (1) Phys.org (2) Saint Peter the Apostle, Caravaggio (3) tsuzanneeller.com

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Gospel: Mark 8:22-26

When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethsaida,
people brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.
Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on the man and asked,
“Do you see anything?”
Looking up the man replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.”
Then he laid hands on the man’s eyes a second time and he saw clearly;
his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.
Then he sent him home and said, “Do not even go into the village.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Part of the tragedy in today’s Gospel is the fact that this man’s blindness was preventable.

Many children in first-century Palestine were born blind because people didn’t know how to properly care for their bodies or how to prevent the spread of disease.

As a result, this man was treated as an outcast his whole life.

Suddenly, Jesus – the divine physician – comes along and heals him.

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Interestingly, this is the only miracle where the healing Jesus offers isn’t immediate; it takes two applications of divine spittle before the man can see clearly.

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Can’t we see something of our own stories in that?

Like this man’s blindness, some of the problems we face in life are preventable – whether it’s financial or relational ruin, spiritual stumbling, falling into unhealthy habits, or entertaining unnecessary fears.

We find ourselves in an unfortunate place – and need to be healed. Like that man, the healing we receive often comes slowly, in stages.

Rebuilding trust takes time. Breaking bad habits is often a gradual, uphill climb. Finding our way to financial security can take years.

But it’s possible.

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Is there any area of my life where I need that slow, healing touch of Jesus? 

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May we be content to receive – not a total resolution – but incremental change where we need it most today.

As the old scene goes, “the journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.”

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Image credits: (1) Moms in Prayer (2) Jesus Healing the Blind Man, Brian Jekel (3) The Letterer