Saturday Reflection

Daily Gospel Reflection April 25th 2020
Gospel    MK 16:15-20
Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them:
“Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them,
was taken up into heaven
and took his seat at the right hand of God.
But they went forth and preached everywhere,
while the Lord worked with them
and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.
Dear Friends and Family,
 “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.”  What a bold statement, what a bold promise.  But look at what the apostles do after this, they courageously go out into the world and proclaim Christ to all they meet.  They proclaim his Word and perform miraculous signs.  They lived lives of fearless faith because they believed in the salvation that Jesus promised.  That is our story as well.
 What if we all lived secure in the promise of our own salvation?  What would we have to fear?  What would stop us from building the Kingdom of God here and now?  Prior to the pandemic, just a few months ago, we enjoyed the safety and security of living in a place where we felt, more or less in control of our lives.  It is times like these, when our comfortable lives are been torn apart, that exposes the illusion that we were ever in control.  The apostles knew that they were never in control, that Jesus, God incarnate was in control, and they chose to follow his lead.  They trusted in the resurrection and the knowledge that whatever they would encounter, wherever they would go, God would be glorified.  To live like that takes faith, and a trust that God is in control, no matter what is going on around us.
 Jesus doesn’t leave us alone in that. He gives us the helps we need. We have the Bible and the Sacraments as the ways Jesus speaks and acts with us in the world today. It is important to remember that the Plan of God includes each of us.  All of our lives play a part in this sacred history.  We are building the kingdom when we pray from the heart, “Thy kingdom come” and “Thy will be done”   Let us pray for that time of unity among all people.  That time when we will all live lives of courageous faith that allows us to share our relationship with God and trust in God’s promise of salvation.