Claiming our Royalty at the Foot of the Cross

One of the meditations I reflected upon today stated “The world is under the bondage  of sin and evil” (Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, p. 153).  In today’s first reading, 1 Peter 2: 2-5, 9-12, St. Peter says    “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of [God’s] own, so that you may announce the praises s of [God] who called you out of darkness into [God’s] wonderful light.” One statement describes why we needed redemption and the other the effect of redemption!   O, the greatness, the generosity and the mercy of our God, as described by Peter: “Once you were no people  but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy  but now you have received mercy.”

Being God’s people, Peter invites us to “long for pure spiritual milk so that through it [we] may grow into salvation…”  May we grow into the salvation that is ours: being “a chosen race, a royal priesthood,  a holy nation, a people of {God’s] own.”  Yes, we will, in fact,  grow “out of darkness into {God’s] wonderful light.”  We might not realize that God is always at work in the world, transforming its darkness into light, its sinfulness and evil into holiness  and goodness anymore than persons watching the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross realized that the world was being freed from its bondage to sin and evil or that the Crucified Jesus truly was the One sent by God to save us, not condemn us.

 As we listen to the news every night and are fed “food” poisoned by ways in which people are “under the bondage of sin and evil” may we thirst and hunger more and more for God’s righteousness, for “pure spiritual milk” that St. Peter talks about in today’s first reading!  May we also, at times when we are faced with this world’s sinfulness, recall Jesus’ words: “Be not afraid. I have conquered the world.”  Jesus, who resides within us, will conquer the world of evil that we face and or experience within or with-out ourselves.

This is my belief! What is yours?

A Life Centered in God

In today’s first reading, Sirach 47: 2-11, the author enumerates David’s victories over the enemies of the Israelites and his practice of praising God and offering thanks to God every morning. “With his whole being he (David) loved his Maker and daily had his praises sung; He set singers before the altar and by their voices he made sweet melodies. He added beauty to the feasts and solemnized the seasons of each year so that when the Holy Name was praised, before daybreak the sanctuary would resound. The Lord forgave him his sins and exalted his strength forever; He conferred on him the rights of royalty and established his throne in Israel.”

How does that passage reflect in your life and mine?  At the end of our lives, would anyone enumerate our victories over our enemies?  Do you and I, at the end of any given day, enumerate the victories we may have achieved that day through Jesus Christ over the enemies we encountered that day, whatever they may be:  pride and envy, jealousy and avarice, deceit and stinginess, corruption and the eruption of anger, judgmentalism and condemnation, revenge and resentments, unforgiveness and lack of mercy and compassion and so much more?

Moreover, do we begin each day praising and thanking God or joining those who do?  Do we solemnize our feasts, the seasons of each year of our lives, our successes and failures with prayers of petition, thanksgiving, and praise, or join those who do?

Without our asking, God has conferred “the rights of royalty” upon us, that is, God adopted us as His sons and daughters and, through the blood of His Son shed on the cross, established our thrones in heaven!