Mark 8, 27-Mark 9-1 (Peter’s Confession)
1st 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 worshiped 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.”
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.”
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Edwin Austin Abbey |
1st August Trinity
July 23, 2017
Mark 8, 27-Mark 9-1 (Peter’s Confession)
There are times in life when we receive a momentous revelation. It can be bad news or good, but in that moment, the orientation of our life is forever changed.
Jesus asks the disciples, 'Who do you say that I am?' Peter receives a momentous revelation. In a flash, he recognizes that in Jesus there dwells the Christ, the Anointed and longed-for Messiah. In Matthew's Gospel he answers, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!' And with this revelation. the orientation of his life, and of the life of all of humanity, is forever changed.
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| Rosenkrantz |
For humanity, with this revelation, a new foundation for a new kind of temple community begins to be built. The old temple was built on the awareness of the distance between the chosen people and other people. It was built on an awareness of the distance between a fallen humanity and the divine. Offerings were made to bridge the ever-increasing gap, in the hope that God would send a remedy.
The new community is founded on an inner, individual awareness that Christ Jesus is the Son of the Living God. He is the one who gives life and healing to human souls ill with the burden of their karma. This awareness is the foundation of the new community, the Christ-Folk. It recognizes that all must indeed make compensation for their sins. But the Christ community is built on generosity of spirit and on love; and it also recognizes that we can help each other deal with what we each have brought on ourselves. The community can take on the burden of another's karma. For it has received the revelation of the power and magnificence of the conscious spirit of love.
