Gospel: Mark 8:27-35

Jesus and his disciples set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that I am?”
They said in reply,
“John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets.”
And he asked them,
“But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said to him in reply,
“You are the Christ.”
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.
He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
He 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.”

Reflection:

The gospel for today is from Mark 8:27-35 and we still have so many things to ponder from this. This is all about asking the question: Who is Jesus?

We know Him and His name is Jesus but do we know who Jesus is? As the gospel in Mark 8:27-35 says that people have different answers when asked about who is Jesus. One thing is for sure, He is the Messiah who set us free from our sins.

To give a closer glimpse of the real meaning of the gospel in Mark 8:27-35, we have to see through within ourselves. Sometimes, even if we know that Jesus is always watching us, we still pretend not to care. We still ignore the things that will disappoint Jesus. We still commit sins.

We are like the people in the gospel who said different things about Him. Other says He is the prophet, some said He is Elijah and even John the Baptist. They were all wrong indeed. They don’t know Jesus firsthand.

The lesson from the gospel is simple. We have to know Jesus deep within our hearts. We have to feel His presence around us. We have to know that He is watching us every day. We have to know Hi, better. Knowing His name is not enough. We have to go deeper on what our hearts are telling us.

In this time of pandemic, many of us are struggling and lost. We lost faith that somehow in the next days to come, we can survive the battle and we will be finally free. This is now the time to call Jesus and know Him better.

To know Him means to suffer a little, to sacrifice a little. To give to others even if we have only a few. To be of help to the most needy because this is what Jesus wants us to do. Jesus is within each of us. Find your happiness by finding Jesus in your hearts. – Clea | Helpline PH

“Today marks my first day of being a choir member of our church and I found my happiness by serving Him.” – writer