1st August Trinity 2010, Give All to Love

Mark 8, 27-Mark 9-1 (Peter’s Confession)

1^st August Trinity

And Jesus went on with his disciples into the region of Caesarea Philippi (in the north of the land at the source of the Jordan where the Roman Caesar was worshipped as a divine being). And on the way there he asked the disciples (and said to them), “Who do people say that I am?”

They said to him, “Some say that you are John the Baptist; others say Elijah, still others that you are one of the prophets.”

Then he asked them, “And you, who do you say that I am?’

Then Peter answered, “You are the Christ.”

And Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

 

And he began to teach them: “The Son of Man must suffer much and will be rejected by the leaders of the people, by the elders and the teachers of the law, and he will be killed and after three days he will rise again.” Freely and openly he told them this.

Then Peter took him aside and began to urge him not to let this happen. He, however, turned around, looked at his disciples, and reprimanded Peter, saying to him, “Withdraw from me; now the adversary is speaking through you! Your thinking is not divine but merely human in nature.”

Momsa

And he called the crowd together, including his disciples and said to them, “Whoever would follow me must practice self-denial and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever is concerned about the salvation of his own soul will lose it; but whoever gives his life for my sake and the sake of the gospel, his soul will find power and healing. For what use is it to a human being to gain the whole world if through that he damages his soul, which falls victim to the power of an empty darkness? What then can a man give as ransom for his soul? In this present humanity, which denies the spirit and lives in error, whoever is ashamed of me and my words, of him the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the shining revelation of the Father among his holy angels.“

And he said to them, “The truth I say to you, among those who are standing here there are some who will not taste death before they behold the kingdom of God arising in human beings, revealing itself in the power and magnificence of the spirit.”

1^st August Trinity

July 25, 2010

Mark 8:27 – 9:1

The Sun in its course of the year has entered the constellation of Leo. It is the constellation of the heart, the house of the awakening of courage and love.

In today’s reading, Christ asks His disciples who they think He is. And Peter’s heart awakens: ‘You are the Christ!’ Then Christ proceeds to teach them about His coming suffering and death. He, the lion of Judah, is trying to show them that He is willing to undergo a human destiny. He, the lion, will become the lamb, sacrificed in love for the sake of humanity’s heart. He is trying to lay the groundwork for courage in the destiny that we will all share.

But Peter’s very natural reaction is to deny and reject the possibility that the Messiah will have to suffer and die. Christ is quick to point out that Peter’s fear-based thinking provides an opening for the adversary’s power. He says that through thoughts and actions based on fear, we will fail to measure up to our divine potential. We will fail to fully embrace our destiny.

Cranach the Elder

Through His own example, Christ encourages us to take up our own lives with courage, whatever life brings us. We are to stand firm and meet courageously life’s adversities. For suffering is a portal. Through His own suffering and death, Christ has opened this portal for us in the direction of the Father and His angels. He is, as He Himself says, the gateway. (John 10:9)

Fear keeps the gate locked, giving the adversary access to us. With Christ in our thoughts, with Christ in our hearts, we will find the courage to face our difficulties. With Christ in our hearts we may even find the courage to love our destiny. Through Christ we find the way back home to the Father.

In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson:

Give all to love;

Obey thy heart;

’T is a brave master;

….Let it have scope:

Follow it utterly,

Hope beyond hope:

….But it is a god,

Knows its own path

And the outlets of the sky.[1]

www.thechristiancommunity.org

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[1] “Give All to Love”, by Ralph Waldo Emerson