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Theo Tigno•
8/4/2010 6:26 pm
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Thursday, August 5th 2010 |
Matthew 16: 13-23
Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you." He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."
Dawg's Thought:
Today's prayer intention - for healing for Joe DeMilia.
Today, the ban on same sex marriages in California was overturned.
I know that it is a cross that our brothers and sisters bear, and it is a cross that God knew I couldn't bear. Yet, does this decision mirror Peter's words today?
"God forbid, my (brother / sister)! You shall have the freedom to indulge in your passion because I know you unable to refrain."
When I was a child, I struggled a lot in math class. One day, my father gave me flash cards that he hand wrote so that I could study my multiplication tables. He didn't tell me that because I was bad at math that I should avoid it or be mediocre at it. He didn't tell the teacher that the math problems were too hard for me so she should let up. Now, math is one of the skills I rely on heavily and I'm glad that my father didn't let me give up.
Peter affirmed Christ through the inspiration of God, and then forgot that it was God he was speaking to. He loved Jesus, and didn't want harm to come to Him, but He forgot that He was God.
We know that He is God. Along with that, we know that we are His children. So, let us follow Him in the way He reveals to us. As Christ suffered, so we know that we are dignified enough to suffer, and in that offering of suffering, we participate in Jesus' suffering. That's dignity.
Those who are lobbying for same sex marriage want their "desire" to be dignified. I would rather want them to dignified versus their desire. They need to know that they are made in the image and likeness of God. They are more than just a sexual orientation.
You ... you need to know that you are made in the image and likeness of God. You need to know that you are more than just your job ... your failures ... your dreams and desires.
Me ... I need to know that I am made in the image and likeness of God. I need to know that I am more than my failures ... my triumphs ... my image of myself in my head that plagues me.
Christ suffered with dignity to free us from sin. Let us suffer with dignity are we struggle with our own sins and the sins of others.
Take care and God Bless.
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