Saturday of the 14^th week in ordinary time

Gen. 49:29-33; 50:15-26a   Mat. 10:24-33

Theme: Acknowledge God

In the gospel reading of today, Jesus admonishes his apostles and continues to prepare them for the task ahead. He strengthens their faith by saying that they should not be afraid of the powers of this world, who can only destroy the body, but cannot kill the soul. Rather they should be afraid of the person who can destroy both the soul and body in hell. In essence, God is simply telling us that if we must be afraid, then it should be the fear of God. Humans are limited and as such, our concern should be on how to accomplish the mandate God has given to all his followers. Never allow the difficulties and challenges encountered on this mission to stop you from carrying out the mission given to us by Christ.

The more we continue to propagate the teachings of Christ, the more we will be acknowledging him in the world. Today Jesus points out the fact that he will only acknowledge those who acknowledge him in the presence of people, in the presence of his heavenly father. This assertion of Jesus Christ should be taken seriously by all of us, as children of God and as Christians. Do you acknowledge Christ publicly for everyone to see it, or you hide and praise God in secret? This is a question that we must answer today as individuals. A good example is for those of us who are Catholics, how confident are you to begin your prayer in public with the sign of the cross? Or even to pray in public? This is very easy and simple, but how many of us do them confidently when we are with other people?

Dearly beloved in Christ, Jesus tells us today that it is necessary that we practice this in our lives, so that he can also do same for us in the presence of his father. It is never too late for us to retrace our steps and begin to do what is good and right in the sight of God. This is because we are very fortunate to be the children of God, he does not chase away anyone for his or her misdeeds in the past, He is a God of second chance. He will always welcome us back, anytime we take that bold step to retrace our steps and return to him. Let us resolve today to do what is good and acceptable to God, by been true ambassadors for Christ.

May almighty God bless his words in our hearts in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.