Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

Gospel: Matthew 16: 13-19
After that, Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi. He asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They said, “For some of them, you are John the Baptist; for others Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”
Jesus asked them, “But you, who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “It is well for you, Simon Barjona, for it is not flesh or blood that has revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.
And now I say to you: You are Peter; and on this Rock I will build my Church; and never will the powers of death overcome it.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you unbind on earth shall be unbound in heaven.”

Reflections
“Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
Peter and Paul are the two great pillars of the Church.
Peter was the leader of the 12 apostles. He refused to be silenced by the authorities and thus was imprisoned. Peter was bold to give witness to Christ because he journeyed with him from Galilee to Je­rusalem. He rightly identified him when asked. He spoke on behalf of the group.
Paul was not one of the 12, but he is considered an apostle. He was also called by God through revelation. Like Peter, Paul felt he was poured out as a libation. He is waiting for his execution for spea­king out for Christ. He too could not be silenced by authorities.
For Christians, it is very im­portant to be anchored in Christ. We cannot follow Christ when we have not been with him in prayer and we are disconnected with his Church. Our discipleship entails mission. Here like the two apos­tles, we suffer for Christ. We are not spared of rejection and death when we boldly open our mouth and proclaim that“Christ is the Son of the Living God” and he is the way to salvation.
Do you lean on Jesus like the two pillars of the Church?

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Luke 15:3-7
So Jesus told them this parable: “Who among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, will not leave the ninety ­nine in the wilderness, and seek the lost one till he finds it? And  finding it, will he not joyfully carry it home on his shoulders? Then he will call his friends and neighbors together, and say, ‘Celebrate with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’ I tell  you, in the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner, than over ninety ­nine decent people, who do not need to repent.

Reflections
“Celebrate with me, for I have found my lost sheep!”Jesus presents the predica­ment of God when a person can­not be found in his fold. He seeks him. He cannot afford to lose any­one.   Everyone is valuable to him. Sin separates us from God.We are considered lost when we become independent from God, when we live as if he does not exist. When we consider our­selves the center of our lives, not God, we are lost, and we look for happiness in material things and not in him. Seeking guidance from the godless and those who have no spiritual values is a sign of  being lost.Now when one of us sinners is found, there is so much joy. One is found when he or she returns to God. The person repents from sin and lives in God’s fold.We repent when we  realize how miserable we have been without God. We repent to gain back what we have lost when we were looking for meaning at wrong places, wrong times and wrong persons.When we are found, not only God will rejoice, but also heaven, our neighbors and ourselves. To­gether we celebrate. We eat and drink and share the joy of being home and complete.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Matthew 7:21-29
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my heavenly Father. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not speak in your name? Did we not cast out devils and perform many miracles in your name?’ Then I will tell them openly, ‘I have never known you; away from me, you evil people!’ “Therefore, anyone who hears these words of mine, and acts according to them, is like a wise man, who built his house on rock. The rain poured down, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house. But it did not collapse, because it was built on rock. But anyone who hears these words of mine, and does not act accordingly, is like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain poured, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house; it collapsed, and what a terrible collapse that was!”When Jesus had finished this discourse, the crowds were struck by the way he taught, because he taught with authority, unlike their teachers of the law.

Reflections
“He taught with authority.”Jesus teaches the importance of listening to the Word of God and doing God’s will. Christians are both listeners and doers.Jesus does not like glib talkers. These people love to talk more than listen. They impose them­selves on others. They impress others by their eloquence and skills to entertain. They grandstand during meetings and in ordinary conversations.Jesus’ disciples should first of all be listeners. They shut their mouths and open wide their ears to allow more inspiration from God to come in to their minds and hearts.   They listen to the Word of God preached to them during li­turgical celebrations. They attend Bible Studies and sharing. They fa­miliarize themselves with the Bible and the teachings of  the Church.Because they listen carefully, they do exactly what is expected of them in the church or in the community. The will of God be­comes clearer to them, so they do it. They apply it without creating chaos. Jesus appreciates what they are doing.Because they listen to God’s word and do it, they become strong in character and in faith. They are not easily carried away by false teachings. They can withstand crises that come along the way.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Gospel: Matthew 7:15-20
Beware of false prophets: they come to you in sheep’s clothing; but inside, they are voracious wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Do you ever pick grapes from thorn bushes; or figs, from thistles?A good tree always produces good fruit. A rotten tree produces bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit; and a rotten tree cannot bear good fruit. Any tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruit.

Reflections
“Beware of false prophets.”False prophets are hard to detect. One knows they are false after the fact. A classic example is the struggle between Jeremiah and Hananiah. Both claimed to speak for God. Hananiah was proven wrong and Jeremiah right when Judeah fell into the Babylo­nians.  Jesus warns his followers to be discerning with regard to listening to a prophet and following him. Jesus describes false prophets as nice to look at, very attractive, very credible when they speak, but they are there to sweet­talk the unsuspecting individuals to buy their rotten products or ideas, to destroy their families, the society, the Church and the environment.False prophets manifest them­ selves today by spreading false news, false hopes, and false alarms through their false sites in the so­cial media.Each Christian must know that true prophets lead us to love Christ more, to listen to the Church’s teachings, to receive the sacra­ments and to be charitable and merciful to others. They themselves are seen practicing their faith.Any teacher who teaches and practices otherwise is a false pro­phet. Christians, beware of them.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019