The WORD today (See http://usccb.org/bible/readings/080115.cfm) reminds me that for God’s followers, the end of life on earth is the beginning of life forever with God.
We have seen a lot of times how God’s power saves his followers - .Jonah and the whale, Daniel and the lion, the three men in the fiery furnace, Peter and the angel leading him out of prison, and even Abraham and his son Isaac. We have seen how God does the impossible in seemingly impossible situations. There’s no question in that, however, it does not happen all the time.
In the gospel, we see how John the Baptist died. His head was cut off, as requested by Herodias’ daughter. Brutal. OF course, there were a lot of ways God could have saved him. However, his death does not mean God loves him less, or God’s power is not enough for him. Rather, this means that John has done his part, and God loves him so much that he wants John to be with him in his kingdom.
In our lives, God has been saving us through little and big ways. However, this does not mean we will be free from sufferings and challenges. Like John, there will come a time when we will be imprisoned and will experience the challenges of the world, because we are not of the world, but followers of God. And inevitably, we will experience what John did, leaving the earth. This should not scare us, but rather, excite us… because the only way we can be with God in his kingdom is if we leave this earth.
Father God,
Thank you for today. Thank you for another weekend! Lord, thank you for reminding me how loving and powerful you are. I pray that even if I don’t feel your power and when I experience challenges in this earth, that I always remain faithful to you… so when the time comes that you call me from this earth, I may be ready and excited. Amen.
Blessed weekend!
In Christ,
-g-
Ps
See related reflection:
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August 1, 2015
Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 406
Reading 1 Lv 25:1, 8-17
The LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai,
“Seven weeks of years shall you count–seven times seven years–
so that the seven cycles amount to forty-nine years.
Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month, let the trumpet resound;
on this, the Day of Atonement, the trumpet blast shall re-echo
throughout your land.
This fiftieth year you shall make sacred
by proclaiming liberty in the land for all its inhabitants.
It shall be a jubilee for you,
when every one of you shall return to his own property,
every one to his own family estate.
In this fiftieth year, your year of jubilee,
you shall not sow, nor shall you reap the aftergrowth
or pick the grapes from the untrimmed vines.
Since this is the jubilee, which shall be sacred for you,
you may not eat of its produce,
except as taken directly from the field.
“In this year of jubilee, then,
every one of you shall return to his own property.
Therefore, when you sell any land to your neighbor
or buy any from him, do not deal unfairly.
On the basis of the number of years since the last jubilee
shall you purchase the land from your neighbor;
and so also, on the basis of the number of years for crops,
shall he sell it to you.
When the years are many, the price shall be so much the more;
when the years are few, the price shall be so much the less.
For it is really the number of crops that he sells you.
Do not deal unfairly, then; but stand in fear of your God.
I, the LORD, am your God.”
Responsorial Psalm PS 67:2-3, 5, 7-8
R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you!
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
The earth has yielded its fruits;
God, our God, has blessed us.
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
Alleluia Mt 5:10
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righeousness
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mt 14:1-12
Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus
and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist.
He has been raised from the dead;
that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”
Now Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison
on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip,
for John had said to him,
“It is not lawful for you to have her.”
Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people,
for they regarded him as a prophet.
But at a birthday celebration for Herod,
the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests
and delighted Herod so much
that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for.
Prompted by her mother, she said,
“Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”
The king was distressed,
but because of his oaths and the guests who were present,
he ordered that it be given, and he had John beheaded in the prison.
His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl,
who took it to her mother.
His disciples came and took away the corpse
and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.
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