Sunday (August 24): My Father in heaven has revealed this to you #Gospel: Matthew 16:13-20 #Meditation: Whi is Jesus for you? At an opportune time Jesus tested his disciples with a crucial question: Who do the people say that I am and who do you say that I am? (Matthew 16:13). Jesus was widely recognized in Israel as a mighty man of God, even being compared with the greatest of the prophets, John the Baptist, Elijah, and Jeremiah. Peter, always quick to respond, exclaimed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. The gift of faith: What enabled Peter to recognize that Jesus was more than a man of flesh and blood? Through the gift of faith Peter recognized that Jesus was the Anointed One - called the Messiah in Hebrew and the Christ in Greek - and the only begotten Son who was sent from the eternal Father in heaven to redeem a fallen human race. No mortal being could have revealed this to Peter; but only God himself. We cannot recognize the true reality of God the Father and the only begotten Son except through the gift of revelation which God gives to those who seek him. Jesus then conferred on Peter authority to govern the church that Jesus would build, a church that no powers could overcome. Jesus played on Peters name which is the same word for rock in both Aramaic and Greek. Spiritual rock and living stones: To call someone a rock is one of the greatest of compliments. The ancient rabbis had a saying that when God saw Abraham, he exclaimed: I have discovered a rock to found the world upon. Abraham put his trust in God and made Gods word the foundation of his life and the bedrock of his faith. Through Abraham God established a nation for himself. Through faith Peter grasped who Jesus truly was. He was the first apostle to proclaim that Jesus was truly the Anointed One (Messiah and Christ) and the only begotten Son of God. The New Testament describes the church, the people of God, as a spiritual house and temple of the Holy Spirit with each member joined together as living stones (see 1 Peter 2:5). Faith in Jesus Christ makes us into rocks - spiritual stones. The Lord Jesus tests each of us personally with the same question: Who do you say that I am? Lord Jesus, I profess and believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. You are my Lord and my Savior who has set me free from sin and deception. Make my faith strong like the Apostles Peter and Paul and give me boldness to speak of you to others that they may come to know you as Lord and Savior. -dailyscripture.net #bible #scripture #reflection #prayer #catholic
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 05:50:16 +0000
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