Luke 9:21-22
Find a place and time free of distractions for the next 7-10 minutes. Take a moment to settle into your surroundings and then begin to recognize your breath. As you breathe in, call on the name of Jesus and become aware of his presence with you. As you breathe out, open your mind and heart to receive whatever Jesus has for you today.
Read Luke 9:21-22 remembering that Peter has just declared Jesus the Christ, the singular King of Israel.
In the wake of Peter’s revelation, Jesus warns the disciples to keep his identity a secret. And then he goes on to tell them that he, the Messiah they have all been looking for, will face suffering and rejection by the people who should most recognize him as King. And then he will be killed.
This is not a pep talk. This is the reality of a world gone terribly wrong – a world full of people who are numb to the echoes of God’s image inside them and blind to the presence of God who walks among them. This is a world in which Jesus’ non-violent way of sacrificial love is foreign and threatening.
Take a moment to imagine what the disciples might be thinking or feeling upon hearing the Messiah’s predictions of his suffering and death. Then reflect on your own thoughts and feelings about Jesus’ culturally upside-down way of non-violence and sacrificial love for all people. Talk with Jesus about this.
Read Luke 9:21-22 again.
Following Jesus is not an invitation to a life without difficulties. If we follow Jesus and love others the way he commanded, we will be an affront to those who prefer the ways of the world. And when we are misunderstood, misrepresented or mistreated because of the way we love, if we are truly following Jesus we will not respond with anger or violence. It’s not an easy road.
But that’s not the end of the story, just as death is not the end of the story for the disciples. Three days after he is killed, Jesus will take back his life and demonstrate his authority over the ultimate consequence of human rebellion. Jesus will rise again.
For the final moments of this time of reflection, meditate on the implications of this truth: you were created to know, follow, and work with God – and God is fully present in Jesus.
Is Jesus inviting you to do anything in response to this truth?
Will you?
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