Jesus’ father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted and you yourself a sword will pierce so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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“You yourself a sword shall pierce.”
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From the moment Mary accepted the invitation to become the Mother of God a sword pierces her heart.
First was the sword of Joseph’s doubt. How could Mary be pregnant? How could she betray him?
Then the sword of rejection as she is forced to give birth to Jesus in a stable, because there’s no room for her in the inn.
Then the sword of fear as Mary and Joseph must flee to Egypt, fearing that King Herod will murder her newborn child.
When Jesus turns twelve, Mary’s heart is pierced with a sword of confusion.
Thinking she’s lost her son in the Temple, she spends days looking for him. When she finds him, Jesus doesn’t apologize; he simply says, “Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?”
A confusing rebuke at best.
Finally, the sharpest sword of all: the moment when Mary witnesses the crucifixion of her son. I cannot imagine anything worse than that.
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Although Mary’s journey with Jesus was filled with grace, it wasn’t easy; often enough, it pierced her heart with grief.
But she never gives up. Wherever her journey with Jesus leads her, she remains by his side, offering us all a model in perseverance.
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When our own hearts are pierced with grief, may we follow Mary’s example, staying close to Christ.
It’s the safest place to be.
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Image credits: (1) Taylor Marshall (2) Jenny Norton, Catholic Life (3) Inspirational Christian Pictures, Pinterest
When Jesus had finished all his words to the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die, and he was valuable to him. When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and save the life of his slave. They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying, “He deserves to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us.” And Jesus went with them, but when he was only a short distance from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come here, and he comes; and to my slave, Do this, and he does it.” When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him and, turning, said to the crowd following him, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” When the messengers returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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We should all aspire to be like the centurion in today’s Gospel.
For example, Luke tells us that he’s a Gentile, but he built the local Jewish synagogue; meaning, he built a house of worship for a religion different from his own.
He’s also a high-ranking military officer, yet he cares for his servant who occupies the lowest place in society and is deathly ill.
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This is a man who cares for people whose faith and social status are not the same as his.
And for his efforts, he helps preserve peace in his community.
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What would this centurion do if he were part of our world today? How would he treat people whose politics, religion, or social status were different from his own?
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May we follow his example, and find ways to care for everyone. Doing so will bring peace to our nation, and indeed, to our world.
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Image credits: (1) ResearchGate (2) Archdiocese of Malta (3) Kathy McAfee
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.”
He 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.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Many of us remember Billy Graham, perhaps the most popular American preacher of the 20th century.
He once shared a story about his wife, Ruth, who was driving through a construction zone on a highway for several miles. After carefully following the detours and warning signs, she came to the last sign that read:
“End of construction. Thank you for your patience.”
Struck by the message, she went home chuckling, telling Billy that she wanted that line engraved on her tombstone. And when the time came, it was.
“Ruth Bell Graham. June 10, 1940 – June 14, 2007. End of construction. Thank you for your patience.”
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Like Ruth Graham, we’re all a work in progress.
Consider Peter in today’s Gospel.
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Jesus turns to him and the others asking, “Who do you say that I am?”
You can imagine the other eleven looking up or down, whistling, shuffling their feet, hoping not to be called upon. They’ve seen Jesus do miraculous things, but remain unsure as to who he really is.
Then, Peter pipes up, “You are the Christ! The Son of the living God!”
In Matthew’s Gospel, immediately after Peter’s great confession of faith, Jesus says, “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”
This is Peter’s brightest moment. Immediately after his great confession of faith, however, Peter rejects the idea of carrying a cross and denies Jesus’ need to suffer.
So, Jesus rebukes him, calling him, “Satan!”
In a single passage, Peter experiences a dramatic high and a quick fall from grace. His profession of faith signals that he’s only reached the beginning – not the end – of his spiritual journey.
Like us, he remains a “work in progress.” So, he tries taking up his cross again, and resumes following Jesus.
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But what is this mysterious “cross” that Jesus is referring to?
For Peter, it meant leaving his family, his livelihood, and his hometown behind, journeying with Jesus to Jerusalem, witnessing his death and resurrection, then becoming the first leader of the Catholic Church here on earth.
But for us? What kind of cross does the Lord ask us to carry?
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That clumsy, awkward, often hard to carry cross called life.
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We might re-interpret Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel, then, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his life and follow me.”
So many of us carry the weight of marriage, children, careers, caring for a sick spouse or parent, or taking care of our own health, and so on.
Spiritually, we also make the daily effort to draw closer to Jesus, putting his teachings of love and forgiveness into practice. On this weekend anniversary of 9/11, we’re reminded of how hard that can be.
We don’t have to add any weight to our shoulders.
We simply can’t shrug it off.
That’s the cross.
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So, what does my cross – my life – look like at the moment? Is it light and easy to carry? Or is it more burdensome?
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However our crosses may feel at the moment, we start again, knowing that the Lord is with us. Like Peter, we’re all a work in progress. Thank you for your patience.
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Image credits: (1) Christian Cross Art, Pat Spark (2) Tiny Buddha, Twitter (3) The Peanut Gallery, WordPress
