“When God wants to sort out the world, as the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount make clear, he doesn't send in the tanks. He sends in the meek, the justice hungry, the peacemakers, the pure-hearted and so on.”

The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God.- Leo Tolstoy: (1828 – 1910: was a Russian writer who is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time)

Gospel Text: (LK 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 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.” 

Jesus’s discourse in todays Gospel from Mass begins with a key phrase, “to you who hear...”. One would assume the hearing is intact for the great majority of people who were gathered, so why begin is discourse with that phrase? Perhaps Jesus is speaking to those who “get it,” whose world view had already been turned upside down. Those who were already living in the kingdom of God, the kingdom of Love, understand that Jesus is talking about receiving our identity from God, rather than from how others treat us. “Nobody is going to take advantage of me” is not an identity we receive from God. 

Those who live in the kingdom are willing to risk being generous, forgiving and vulnerable, as they draw from the Ultimate Abundant Source – God – the source of all generosity, forgiveness and vulnerability. They live without the protection of power, position, privilege and righteousness. “We are called to be light for the kingdom, to live in the freedom of the city of God!” is how the song goes. Letting our light shine brightly, without fear of being snuffed out, ushers us into the kingdom of God now, not later.

“The call of God is not just for a select few but for everyone. Whether I hear God’s call or not depends on the condition of my ears, and exactly what I hear depends upon my spiritual attitude.”

“If God gives you something you can do, why in God's name wouldn't you do it?” ― Stephen King: (born September 21, 1947: is an American author)

Gospel Text: (MT 16:13-19)

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi
he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 

The “power of the keys” is used in many ways: some are specific to the Office of Peter (that is, the papacy), while others are shared with those ordained to priestly ministry (for example, the Sacrament of Confession). Jesus mediates the grace of His Death and Resurrection to us through the ministry of mere human beings. These human leaders of the Church have been chosen by God, and so we pray for them, that they might always be faithful ministers of God’s grace.

“Men have said that the cross of Christ was not a heroic thing, but I want to tell you that the cross of Jesus Christ has put more heroism in the souls of men than any other event in human history.”

There is no evil to be faced that Christ does not face with us. There is no enemy that Christ has not already conquered. There is no cross to bear that Christ has not already borne for us, and does not now bear with us. And on the far side of every cross we find the newness of life in the Holy Spirit, that new life which will reach its fulfillment in the resurrection. This is our faith. This is our witness before the world. – St. John Paul II: (1920 – 2005: was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 to 2005.)

Gospel Text: (MK 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.” 

A man found a cocoon of an emperor moth, so, he took it home so he could watch it come out of its cocoon. One day a small opening appeared and he sat and watched as the moth struggled for several hours as it forced its body through the little hole. As he continued to struggle he appeared to get stuck. The man, in his kindness, decided to help the moth and he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of cocoon. The moth emerged easily, but had a swollen body and small shriveled wings. The man continued to watch with the expectation that the wings would enlarge and expand to support the body, which would contract with time. Neither happened. In fact, the little moth spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings and it was never able to fly. What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the moth to get through the tiny opening was the way of forcing fluid from the body of the moth into the wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved it freedom from the cocoon. Freedom and flight would only come after the struggle. By depriving the moth of struggle, he deprived the moth of health and a good life.

As we take up our cross and follow Jesus there will be struggle and there will be suffering. I pray that I am able to bear suffering and to understand and accept that it is not only essential for growth - physically, mentally, and spiritually, but essential in allowing me to better understand and follow Jesus who leads us to everlasting life.

The truth is: love heals.

“When I stand before thee at the day's end, thou shalt see my scars and know that I had my wounds and also my healing.” ― Rabindranath Tagore: (1861 – 1941: was a Bengali polymath, a poet, musician and artist from the Indian subcontinent)

Gospel Text: (MK 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 story of the blind man invites us to allow Christ and His saving presence to touch our lives, to bring us light, to help us see the beauty of our lives in Christ. The touch of Jesus can and does allow us to see the movement of God in our lives, even in and through the wounds we carry.