Today's Gospel Reflection

Here's the reflection I shared via Quellen Center for today's gospel:

May 29, 2007
Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Mark 10:28-31

I’ll admit it: Sometimes I am Peter in this Gospel, reminding Jesus of my commitment to Him and pointing out what I’ve given up in the process. Quickly I am brought back to reality as I hear Jesus’ reply to Peter, assuring that those who sacrifice for the sake of Gospel will receive in this life a bounty of gifts including persecutions (and later eternal life). Wow, quite a mix of blessings! Am I crazy to think of the promised persecutions as blessings? Perhaps it seems so at first glance, but not really. The persecutions promised in this passage, I’ve come to learn, can be seen as opportunities for grace, chances to bear witness to the Gospel, moments in which we can reinvigorate the courage and conviction with which we profess our most fundamental beliefs. The persecutions, many of them small pokes in the ribs of daily living, are opportunities we can use to renew our consciousness of the Church as the Living Body of Christ and be reminded yet again that we are not alone. As the words of a song sung by the singer Dana state, “We are one Body, one Body in Christ, and we do not stand alone!” What a perfect reminder in these days following Pentecost: we are not alone, we stand together, and the Spirit of God is among and within us!

Prayer:
Loving God, grant that Your Living Body may be a recognizable sign of Your presence among and within all people. Let us remember that are united as one in You and we are together on this journey.