The call is going out to all the world: follow Jesus!
The word of God continued to spread,
and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly;
even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
Jesus gives meaning to our lives. He gives us something acceptable to give to the Father. He himself, through his Cross and Resurrection, is the way. He makes us priests uniting all of our little sacrifices to his self-sacrifice on the Cross. He makes all of our life of work, prayer, and sacrifice, acceptable to the Father.
Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings
but chosen and precious in the sight of God,
and, like living stones,
let yourselves be built into a spiritual house
to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
We need to let ourselves be built together by him. We need to let him place us where he wants us and unite us even with those whom we might otherwise avoid.
When things are hard we can trust Jesus. When the sacrifices we are called to make are difficult we can still rely on him. Even when we're confused and at a loss about what step to take next we can still have confidence that abiding in Jesus we abide in truth.
We are called to follow Jesus into his wonderful light because he is the way the truth and the light. The light shines when we recognize that Jesus is in the Father and that the Father is in Jesus. We see a glimpse of the truth of who Jesus is like the disciples do on the Mount of Transfiguration. This is the light of divinity thinly concealed by the appearance of his human nature. This light shines on us the more we look for it. And the more it shines on us the more others see it on our faces.
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (see Second Corinthians 3:18).
So let us follow Jesus the way to the truth of who he is as God and so be filled with the light he promises. This way leads through the Cross. But he has made us a royal priesthood. He has given meaning to all of our crosses. And we need not wait for the last day to see the light of the resurrection. It is shining even now.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
No comments:
Post a Comment