First Reading
James 2:1-9
My brothers and sisters, show no partiality
as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.
For if a man with gold rings and fine clothes
comes into your assembly,
and a poor person with shabby clothes also comes in,
and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes
and say, “Sit here, please,”
while you say to the poor one, “Stand there,” or “Sit at my feet,”
have you not made distinctions among yourselves
and become judges with evil designs?
Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.
Did not God choose those who are poor in the world
to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom
that he promised to those who love him?
But you dishonored the poor.
Are not the rich oppressing you?
And do they themselves not haul you off to court?
Is it not they who blaspheme the noble name that was invoked over you?
However, if you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture,
You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well.
But if you show partiality, you commit sin,
and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
R. (7a) The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Gospel
Mark 8:27-33
Jesus and his disciples set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that I am?”
They said in reply,
“John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets.”
And he asked them,
“But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said to him in reply,
“You are the Christ.”
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.
He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
TITLE: FLUNKING THE THIRD GRADE?
"He began to teach them that the Son of Man had to suffer much." –Mark 8:31
The first grade in the school of Jesus is concerned with Jesus' question: "Who do people say that I am?" (Mk 8:27) In the second grade, Jesus asks each of us personally: "You...who do you say that I am?" (Mk 8:29) To answer this question properly, we must not only have knowledge of Jesus but also total faith in Him as Messiah and Lord (Mk 8:29). In the third grade, Jesus brings up the cross. Again, this is not merely a matter for discussion; it is a radical decision to live a new life of love. "Jesus said to all: 'Whoever wishes to be My follower must deny his very self, take up his cross each day, and follow in My steps. Whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will save it' " (Lk 9:23-24).
Peter flunked the third grade. He wanted a cross-less Christianity. Jesus temporarily expelled Peter from school, saying to him: "Get out of My sight, you satan!" (Mk 8:33)
After denying Christ three times, Peter cried tears of repentance (Lk 22:62) and finally got back into the third grade. Eventually, Peter was crucified himself. He made the grade, graduated, and rose into the everlasting happiness of heaven.
What grade are you in? Have you flunked out? Will you repent? Will you graduate? Give your life totally to the crucified and risen Messiah and Lord.
PRAYER: Jesus, I believe in You – Messiah, Lord, and God!
PROMISE: "Did not God choose those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom He promised to those who love Him?" –Jas 2:5
PRAISE: Every Holy Thursday, Pete leads each of the shifts in his plant in prayers and devotions.
...the word of the Lord..,
I am proud to be a christian, and i am ready to carry the cross God gives me because He has assured me His grace is sufficient for me
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