Thoughts for the Day

Jesus Again Foretells His Death and Resurrection

As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to the the disciples, ‘The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.’ And they were greatly distressed..

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

There are some things in life that will inevitably happen and no-one can suffer them for you. One, for a woman, might be child-birth. On going into labour with my first child I can remember clearly thinking "Well whatever happens, nothing will stop this now". There was a real feeling of isolation, that no-one could stop the roller coaster from going forward, nor could anyone do this for me! The second inevitable moment for every human being, is death. We will all die, and only we can do it. Again it is an isolating and lonely time.

Having said this one thing that helps in childbirth and in death is those who travel beside us. In my case my lovely husband who though squeamish coped with the very difficult birth, supporting me gamely with his love. Having seen many deaths over forty years of ministry what we do not want is Peter's reaction, or in today's terminology "Rubbish Grandad! You look much better. You'll be out of hospital soon!" What we need is faithful travellers willing to pray for us, hold our hand and speak words of love to us as we leave this life and move on to the next.

Jesus predicts his death and resurrection to his disciples a number of times in all four Gospels. The first time he announces this we see in Matthew and Mark's Gospels that Peter objects and is rebuked by Jesus (Matthew 16.21-23 and Mark 8.31-33). Today's short reading from Matthew's is the second time that he has predicted his death. Our Lord, knew what He was facing when he approached Jerusalem, that His death and resurrection would be part of God's plan to save the world. His faith and trust in the Father never wavered.

Heavenly Father,
Your Son, our Lord Jesus,
came to earth to offer us His people a new life.
Despite his approaching death His faith in You
did not waver.
May we approach times of crisis in our life
with confidence that You are with us
and will hold us safe whatever the outcome.
Amen.