GOSPEL
The Son of Man is destined to suffer grievously
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark
Mark 8:27-35
Jesus and his disciples left for the villages round Caesarea Philippi. On the way he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say I am?’ And they told him. ‘John the Baptist,’ they said ‘others Elijah; others again, one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he asked ‘who do you say I am?’ Peter spoke up and said to him, ‘You are the Christ.’ And he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone about him.
And he began to teach them that the Son of Man was destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and to be put to death, and after three days to rise again; and he said all this quite openly. Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. But, turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said to him, ‘Get behind me, Satan! Because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.’
He called the people and his disciples to him and said, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.’
And he began to teach them that the Son of Man was destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and to be put to death, and after three days to rise again; and he said all this quite openly. Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. But, turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said to him, ‘Get behind me, Satan! Because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.’
He called the people and his disciples to him and said, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.’
The Gospel of the Lord.
Identity at Stake
Jesus clearly identifies with His mission: He is the Messiah, and that is how He presents Himself. I am a husband. Do I identify with my mission? When people see me, is it clear that I am, above all, a husband? And my spouse—do they recognise me primarily as their partner? Or do I stand out for other things? Because if so, I might be losing my identity.
A Christian husband is defined by loving through the cross, like Christ. Thinking of any other way to love is to embrace the lies of Satan. As spouses, let’s flee from evil and not think as men do; let’s think big, as God does.
A Christian husband is defined by loving through the cross, like Christ. Thinking of any other way to love is to embrace the lies of Satan. As spouses, let’s flee from evil and not think as men do; let’s think big, as God does.
Applied to Married Life:
Lisa: I see that Jesus is very clear about His mission to redeem the world through suffering. He knows what He is here for. Sometimes I forget that my mission with you is to collaborate with Christ in redeeming you, also by offering my own suffering.
David: Yes, the Lord gives us a great mission, which is to share in His, but I often think like men, not like God. He took my sins upon His shoulders. No one has ever looked at me like that in my brokenness. He fell in love with me in my weakness. He rescued my soul from death. I feel so loved. What hurts me the most is that I’m not responding by loving you the way I should.
Lisa: But we want to respond. Tomorrow we will do better with His help. Are you willing to give your life?
David: I’m willing. Are you?
Lisa: I’m willing.
David: Praise be to the Lord.
David: Yes, the Lord gives us a great mission, which is to share in His, but I often think like men, not like God. He took my sins upon His shoulders. No one has ever looked at me like that in my brokenness. He fell in love with me in my weakness. He rescued my soul from death. I feel so loved. What hurts me the most is that I’m not responding by loving you the way I should.
Lisa: But we want to respond. Tomorrow we will do better with His help. Are you willing to give your life?
David: I’m willing. Are you?
Lisa: I’m willing.
David: Praise be to the Lord.
Mary,
I am in awe of your mad love—so incomprehensible to men, but irresistible to those You choose. Thank you, Mother!