Dear Friends
Today’s Reading from the Gospel of Luke [Lk. 9:18-24] delivered a number of spiritual messages to us.
The attention is drawn on Jesus. Who was Jesus? Who did the crowds think that He was? Who did Saint Peter think that Jesus was? There were those who believed that Jesus was John the Baptist who had returned. Some believed that He was Elijah. Others believed that He was one of the prophets of long ago who had come back to life. When Peter was asked who he thought that Jesus was, He answered, “The Messiah of God.”. The future King, who was to be the Saviour of His people and the world, who came to be spoken of as “the Anointed One.”
The Gospel draws our attention to Jesus’ prophecy that He would suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law. And finally, He would be killed. But on the third day, He would rise from the dead. Such a prophecy must have been hard for the Apostles to swallow. After all, no one comes back from the dead. When you die, your time here on earth is finished, now and forever. What was spoken by Jesus to the Apostles was meaningless at the time. It was only after His glorious Resurrection that the Apostles would remember his proph-ecy.
The Gospel draws our attention to the necessity to renounce one’s life and to follow Jesus by persevering in the trials that may cross our daily path. Those who strive for fame, wealth, pleasures, they are lost. For these goals oppose spiritual growth. It is better to have little and to be happy with it, be-ing thankful to God for all that one receives. It is better to be humble, submissive to God, obedient to the Command-ments, than to elevate one self above all others. Those who defend and spread their faith, they shall be glorified by God throughout eternity. Those who are ashamed of Jesus and their faith, refusing to defend and spread the Catholic faith, they shall be eternally lost. For one cannot serve two mas-ters, the God of glory and the god of indifference.
Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me.” That is not just a bunch of words; it is a strict command by the Lord Jesus Himself, to follow Him. This week, let us reflect on these Sacred Words of Jesus. Let us ask ourselves if we are being obedient to the Lord Jesus, if we are taking up our cross and following Him. If so, then praise the Lord. If not, then it is never too late to begin. This week, let us also pray for one another, especially for those who need to take up their cross, that they may find the strength to do so for the glory of the Lord Jesus.
