Mass readings for today are here
Gospel Mark 8 : 27-33
Along the way he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that I am?”
They said in reply,
“John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets.”
And he asked them,
“But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said to him in reply,
“You are the Christ.”
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
When I have opened my mouth too hastily too many times He sometimes has shut it for me !
But this one is a work still very much in progress.
When I panic and think I've missed the boat He is waiting to greet me on the shore .
And you know the best thing ? - Sometimes when I don't believe, when I have thrown it all back in His face, He still waits for me.
When everything has a meaning, how can you live anything but a Yes ?
Gospel Mark 8 : 27-33
Jesus and his disciples set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that I am?”
They said in reply,
“John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets.”
And he asked them,
“But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said to him in reply,
“You are the Christ.”
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.
He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
Who Do You Say I Am?
In the blessed lonely stillness of the night
When neither darkness nor sleep provide
A safehouse for those who would hide
From truth's confrontational guise:
Who do you say I am?
In the maddening rush of the day
When worlds spin and nerves squeal
When big names play big games
And war's lasting image of all that's gone wrong
Is a tiny left footprint
In a blood-muddied field:
Who do you say I am?
In the unfathomable reaches of the sea
Where no earthly spirit can dwell
Myth and mystery and meaning
Wash over swell upon swell
Then out of the blue a whisper
Like a beacon of light in a storm
The question that echoes down centuries:
Who do you say I am?
Amid tyrrany, murder and outrage
Avarice, betrayal and war
The enduring words of the Master forge
The same keen edge as before
Cutting through masks of deceivers
Through evil, corruption and sham
The question as probing as ever:
Who do you say I am?
From Poetry Prayer and Praise Blog
My Response to Who Do You Say I Am ?
I believe Jesus is The Son Of God but my relationship with Him is a paradox ; both constant and constantly changing and I never want to lose His presence or His love.
Christ has been everywhere I have been in my life and has always loved me exactly where I have been and in everything I have ever been.
He has taught me that I don't need to protect or defend myself in His presence.
In those parts of me that are :
aching, sore, wounded, lonely,
broken, self pitying, wilful, proud, self-interested, questioning, doubting, angry, disappointed and unyielding .....
He enters into the core and root of it all - to listen and calm me, to allow me to shed the armour and the masks.
Breathe on me Breath of God !!
He has always been there to catch me when I fall.
He has taught me that I don't need to protect or defend myself in His presence.
In those parts of me that are :
aching, sore, wounded, lonely,
broken, self pitying, wilful, proud, self-interested, questioning, doubting, angry, disappointed and unyielding .....
He enters into the core and root of it all - to listen and calm me, to allow me to shed the armour and the masks.
Breathe on me Breath of God !!
He has always been there to catch me when I fall.
His love for me has been both tender and challenging, sometimes stretching my boundaries and at others allowing me to fall back into his arms when I feel the fear and the anguish of weights I can't carry on my own in this life.
When I get frustrated that I can't control the things I need to in this world, Christ says:
"That's fine; Let go , Be vulnerable. You are safe in me."
When I get frustrated that I can't control the things I need to in this world, Christ says:
"That's fine; Let go , Be vulnerable. You are safe in me."
When I have opened my mouth too hastily too many times He sometimes has shut it for me !
But this one is a work still very much in progress.
When I panic and think I've missed the boat He is waiting to greet me on the shore .
And you know the best thing ? - Sometimes when I don't believe, when I have thrown it all back in His face, He still waits for me.
When I was in my early teens I came across a remarkable book by Dag Hammarskjold called Markings which I still love to this day.
Inside is a quote that probably sums up my faith in Christ and God that I renew by the minute, hour and everyday :
You dare your Yes- and experience a meaning.
You repeat your Yes- and all things acquire a meaning.
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