Reflection for February 17, Friday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time: Mark 8:34-9:1

Gospel: Mark 8:34-9:1

Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it.  

What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? What could one give in exchange for his life? Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this faithless and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”  

He also said to them, “Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the Kingdom of God has come in power.”

+ + + + +  + +

Reflection:

The story is told about a middle aged man who was newly retired from politics. When he was still active he amassed a lot of dubious wealth. Having a feeling of financial security already, he said to himself now I can enjoy all of my money. 

 However, in spite of his wealth he didn’t have peace of mind he was always being hounded by the questionable deals that he made while he was still in power. Then he had a heart attack and he died immediately without enjoying his stolen wealth. 

When he was about to enter the pearly gates, Saint Peter refused him entry and told him that he’s not welcome because of the things that he did when he was still alive. 

What will it profit us if we gain the riches of this world if we will not be able to gain entry in heaven? What will it profit us if we will continue to steal dubious money if we will not have peace of mind? 

Unfortunately, this is the mentality of a lot of us; we are so short-sighted that we focus on the here and now even if it’s sinful. We continuously neglect to do good, we purposely shut God out of our system to enjoy worldly life. 

All of us are temporary travellers passing through this world. In God’s time we will leave this world. Where would we be by then?  Would we be in heaven with Jesus or in the other side? – Marino J. Dasmarinas