Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Gospel: Mark 8:27-35

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 20^th 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

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Gospel: Luke 6: 39-42

Jesus told his disciples a parable:
“Can a blind person guide a blind person?
Will not both fall into a pit?
No disciple is superior to the teacher;
but when fully trained,
every disciple will be like his teacher.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?
How can you say to your brother,
‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’
when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?
You hypocrite!  Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Growing up in the South, watermelon was always a sweet summer treat. But anyone who’s ever eaten watermelon also knows that you have to spit out the seeds.

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Strangely enough, isn’t that a fitting image for today’s Gospel on judgment?

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“Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?” Jesus says.

In other words, why are you quick to point out the “seeds” in other people, without realizing that you’re watermelon, too?

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So much of the value we place on other people – and upon ourselves – is determined by what we focus on: either the negative or the positive.

Instead of seeing the “seeds” in other people – or even the “seeds” within ourselves – make the effort to find what’s good.

Everyone will be happier as a result.

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Image credits: (1) CandleScience (2) TPorenson (3) Solid Starts

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Gospel: Luke 6: 27-38

Jesus said to his disciples:
“To you who hear I say, love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you.
To the person who strikes you on one cheek,
offer the other one as well,
and from the person who takes your cloak,
do not withhold even your tunic.
Give to everyone who asks of you,
and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
For if you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who do good to you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners do the same.
If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners lend to sinners,
and get back the same amount. 
But rather, love your enemies and do good to them,
and lend expecting nothing back;
then your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.

“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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When we consider some of the bigger challenges facing our world, like poverty, hunger, unpredictable weather, and violence, it’s easy to throw our hands up and say these problems are almost too big to be solved.

But the slave trade wasn’t any different.

It was a horrific practice adopted by empires and nations over the course of history. I’m sure many who were surrounded by it threw their hands up, saying change simply wasn’t possible.

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Today we celebrate the life of someone who never gave up. He tackled the slave trade head on; while he didn’t end it, he did something about it.  

Father Peter Claver was a Spanish priest from the 17^th century who became a missionary in Cartagena, Colombia, which was at the time, the epicenter of the slave trade.

For 33 years, Father Claver stood on the shores of Cartagena, meeting incoming slaves with food, water, and interpreters. He also baptized over 300,000 of them.

He was a flicker of light – the face of Christ – in what was an otherwise dark and scary place.

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While we may not resolve every – or any – issue facing our world today, we can all do something about it. 

We can address poverty one stomach at a time; homelessness one home at a time; loneliness one smile at a time.

So, what’s one thing I can do for someone else in honor of Father Claver?

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“For whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters,” Jesus says, “you do to me.”

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Image credits: (1) Jacobs Media Strategies (2) Angelus News (3) Lovely Quotes