Dying and rising with Christ

In today’s Gospel, Mt 17: 22-27, Jesus tells his disciples that “the Son of Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” The disciples were overwhelmed with grief, St. Matthew tells us. They did not yet get it. Jesus is not of this earth. He is God in human form and will be returning to the Father when He completes the Father’s will here on earth—our salvation through the blood of the cross. The cornerstone of our salvation will be rejected by the builders and put to death and will rise again. Death will have no power over Him and not over us either. I could not help but think how often I see only the negative, that which I judge disastrous, that which I believe is not supposed to be. Throughout the day, God gives me opportunities to die to selfishness and rise to new life through Him. Fearing that I will lose something of value, I may hang onto being right, arguing my point, clinging to that to which I may believe I am entitled—the opportunity of a resurrection may be lost in the process.