Lenten Day II [Day]

Lenten Day II [Thursday]

Collect of the Day [Rite I]

Direct us, O Lord, in all our doings with thy most gracious favor, and further us with thy continual help; that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in thee, we may glorify thy holy Name, and finally, by thy mercy, obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Assigned Gospel

Luke 9:18-25 [ESV]

Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  And they answered, "John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen." Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter answered, "The Christ of God." And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised."  And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.  For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?

http://bible.com/59/luk.9.18-25.ESV

Lenten Reflection

In the world around us, there are plenty of views on Jesus of Nazareth.  We need not look hard to find them.  While it nay be interesting to know what people are saying, the Gospel challenges us not to simply hear and receive an opinion.

The disciples did a wonderful job of just simply paroting opinions.  They told Jesus exactly what others were saying about him.  In the midst of this paroting of viewpoints, Jesus asks them, "But who do you say that I am?"

This is an ageless question.  Even today, when there are still so many opinions about who Jesus was or is, and how desirable and relevant this Jesus is to is and our life, he asks us the same question.

Who do we say Jesus is?  How desirable and relevant is he to us and our lives?  Do we simply know of Jesus, or do we love him, knowing with Peter that indeed Jesus is the Christ, our Lord and God.

Does knowing this make everything good and acceptable?  Read past the end of the assigned Gospel for this day and you will find the answer.  Peter knows who Jesus is, but has not fully grasped the power of the words or the Christ.

Day by day as we walk with Jesus we grow in the depth of our understanding of who Jesus is, and how he makes a difference in our lives whereby he secures the first place in our hearts.