February 17 reflection

 The following is the second in our Lenten reflections that St. Francis and Christ the Healer are involved in.  You can reflect throughout Lent with a daily thought by a member of St. Francis or Christ the Healer.  It is a wonderful way to observe Lent, and it expresses the diversity that exists within our faith communities.  The link to access the reflections is:  http://www.stfrancisstamford.org/blog

The author of this piece is Rev. Kate Heichler.  Enjoy:   

Luke 9:18-15

Once when Jesus* was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, 'Who do the crowds say that I am?' They answered, 'John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.' He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' Peter answered, 'The Messiah* of God.'

 He sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone, saying, 'The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.'

 Then he said to them all, 'If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves?

 

Ding! Ding! Ding! Peter hit the jackpot in the "Who is Jesus really?" game show. "

I know who you are - you are the anointed one, the Christ, the Messiah of God.  The one we've been waiting for." And what's his prize for getting it right? "Son, you have won yourself a lifetime of hardship and persecution! Come on down!"

So why do we follow, or even explore following this One whose identity people have been trying to figure out for millennia?  What's in it, if our life doesn't get easier?

Self-denial ain't all it's cracked up to be. (I like what someone said about the Pope's resignation:  "Pope Benedict giving up the papacy? That sort of WINS Lent.")

What if we read it, "Those who focus on their lives will lose them. Those who focus on my life will gain new life."  We have been given the gift of Christ's life alive within us. It's the only thing about us that is eternal.

This Valentine's Day, open the love letter God sent you at the beginning of time...

and as we learn to read that letter, we let that love into our lives, we will find our lives becoming fuller and richer - not always easier, but more meaningful and purposeful. Focus on the love, and the life will just keep coming.

 Blessings.

Mark