Tuesday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time
2 Peter 3:12-15A, 17-18
Mark 12:13-17
The heavens were opened and a great wind filled the place where the disciples were gathered. As they prayed, the Flame of divine love settled upon them. That flame continues to cleanse us of our sins, enlightens our minds and strengthens our wills to proclaim the Good News of salvation to the world. As disciples of the risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ we look for new heavens and a new earth. He who now sits enthroned in heaven, clothed in glory has sent the Holy Spirit to us to clothe us in righteousness. Like Him, we are wrapped in light as in a robe and are sent forth as a light for the world. Having put aside the acts of darkness, let us live as children of the Light so that in all we do God may be glorified. With hearts expanded by the sweetness of love, let us seek to grow in grace, faith, virtue, and fear of the Lord. Let us labor to know Christ more clearly. In knowing Him, let us be conformed to him more completely. Being conformed to Him, let us find our resting place close to the heart of the Father.
God desires us to make His heart our resting place. He sent his beloved son into the world to guide us to our heavenly home. The Son is the shepherd who knows his sheep. Because of the shepherd smells of his sheep, they know him. To know the way, the sheep have to listen for the voice of the shepherd as he calls them by name. We must realize just how precious we are in His eyes. We have been purchased at a great price, the life-blood of Christ. Because God made us and then recreated us in Christ, we belong to Him. This is the foundation of true freedom. This is what gives us our true dignity.
“The image of God is not impressed on gold, but on the human race. Caesar’s coin is gold, God’s coin is the human heart…. Therefore give your riches to Caesar but keep for God the unique innocence of your heart, where God is contemplated… God chose man, whom he created to reflect his glory” (Anonymous, Incomplete Work on Matthew, Homily 42). As the handiwork of God that has been ransomed from the powers of darkness by the blood of Christ we become sons and daughters of God in the Son. Consequently, we are obliged to do the will of the Father, seeking him even as we grapple with temptation and sin. Because God made us we are his and we need to abandon ourselves to his grace, knowing that when he looks at us he sees and loves in us what he sees and loves in his beloved Son. May God bless us and keep us always in his love as he continues to write the story of our individual lives. The Psalmist proposed the question: “What return shall I make to the Lord for all he has done for me? (Ps. 116:12) Jesus provided the answer: “give back” to God what belongs to Him: everything and everyone, ourselves together with all of humanity and creation
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