Today’s Gospel: And Jesus went on with his
disciples, to the villages of Caesare'a Philip'pi; and on the way he asked his
disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" 28 And
they told him, "John the Baptist; and others say, Eli'jah; and others one
of the prophets." 29 And he asked them,
"But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the
Christ." 30 And he charged them to
tell no one about him.
31 And
he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be
rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed,
and after three days rise again. 32 And he said this plainly.
And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. 33 But
turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter, and said, "Get behind
me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God, but of men." Mark 8:27-33
Reflection: Who doesn’t prepare himself on a journey? Yet we
have people who never prepare themselves and wait for the last minute.
I
knew a man who was honest to the core. You could leave a box of gold in his
presence and he would sincerely not touch it despite his bad habits. But he knew how to deceive an individual and
take money from them. There is always
the duality when it comes to evil. We
may not be drunkards like the rest but we could be perverts either covertly or
overtly.
Similarly,
there may be some who may be excellent in preparing themselves or organizing a
programme or an event but when it comes to preparing themselves or others for
the eternal journey they may lag far behind anyone.
In
the gospel Jesus is about to enter a village which is steeped in pagan worship
and everything that has to do with pagan. A city nourished by the Romans and
their culture; a culture in which universalism and relativism was the order of
the day. A city paganised to the core.
Jesus,
by putting forth the question about himself is preparing his disciples to come
to grasp with the truth and Salvation he offers in himself. He in a way is preparing his disciples and
all those who would be his future disciples, especially in pagan lands, for the
eternal journey.
Prayer: Thou
hast given me the shield of thy salvation, and
thy right hand supported me, and thy help made me great. Ps 18:35
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