FEBRUARY 20 READING…MARK 9
In our reading today Jesus is revealed to His disciples as the eternal one, as God, in His transfiguration. They also heard from the Father in heaven, affirming that Jesus is Messiah, the One who fulfills all of the law and the prophets. God the Father declared to the disciples that Jesus is the final Authority in all things…when it comes to the law, it’s Jesus…when it comes to the prophets…it’s Jesus. Yet, this One who is God incarnate, the fulfillment of the law and the prophets, said that He came to be a servant. He taught His disciples, and He is teaching us, that we are called first to be a servant of others…we are not called to a position of prominence where we are required to be served. In our readings today, Jesus set a young man free from a demon that he had since childhood, and would cause this young man to throw himself into the fire. Only Jesus was able to cast this demon out. Finally, Jesus warns of those who would hurt the little ones. He warns them that hell awaits them…yes, Jesus believed and taught a literal hell. He described it as a place where the worm never dies and the fire is never quenched. Jesus even said that it would be better to lose something important in this life…an eye, your hand, or your feet…than to spend eternity in hell. Today, we have “pastors” who deny hell, so they never warn their people of a place waiting for unrepentant sinners. People have convinced themselves that if the refuse to believe that hell exist, it ceases to exist…such dangerous delusion. Jesus told us hell exists…therefore it exists.
Please share your thoughts.
TOMORROW’S READING…MARK 10