It’s Not About Me

July 14, 2018

Jesus continues His pep talk to the apostles today. He reminds them and all of us that we follow (come after) Him. It is not about us, it is all about Him. We can and should in every way try to become like Him, act like Him, be like Him, but at the end of the day, it is Jesus that does the real healing, the true saving, and the unconditional loving. We are the vessels of grace to be poured out, but we are not the Savior of the world. I know that I had to learn this lesson the hard way. Yes, I thought I always gave the glory to God in my ministry, and yes, I made it clear that I served in the name of Jesus, but if I’m being honest I also had moments when it was about me, my pride, and me thinking it was Jen that was doing the saving. There is a fine line between humbly embracing our gifts in service to the Lord and arrogance. When my pride was at its worst, I needed to step out of the way, retreat, and humble myself. I needed to experience Jesus as my Savior, at rock bottom, in order to become small again, and I pray everyday to stay small. “No disciple is above his teacher.”

Another reminder today is that we don’t need to be afraid of those acting in the name of evil because the Savior is the one who has already won that fight. We need to be aware and tend to the condition of our souls at all times. As long as we claim Christ, our souls are safe, however, temptations and sins of the flesh can cloud our soul vision at times and we need to constantly check those blind spots with light from the promptings of the whispers of our hearts. Jesus is always teaching us, showing us the way, and speaking life into our souls. We must be reminded that He knows us and sees us and that He loves us beyond measure. When I truly know that I am loved, I thrive. Jesus tells me today that even the hairs on my head are counted! I can’t even imagine being loved this much and/or loving someone this much. We were made to thrive.

Last, but not least, “Everyone who acknowledges me before othersI will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.But whoever denies me before others,I will deny before my heavenly Father.” This one is hard to understand, and Jesus is probably being hyperbolic, but I think the point is that we must consciously choose to stand with love and not against it. We must constantly choose mercy and forgiveness in the name of love, or we will be denying Christ with our actions. If we do not try everyday to look like Christ, God might not recognize us when we meet Him face to face. Does that even make sense? I’m struggling with this concept today. I will pray for understanding.

Here’s what I do know: Jesus loves me beyond measure and wants me to thrive on that love and the knowledge of that love, it’s not about me, He is the Savior of the world and I am a vessel of grace, and I don’t need to be afraid as long as I am tending to my soul by acknowledging Him before others. My prayer is that when we look at one another today, we see Jesus, and it is well with my soul. 

Memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, virgin
Lectionary: 388

Reading 1 IS 6:1-8

In the year King Uzziah died,
I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne,
with the train of his garment filling the temple.
Seraphim were stationed above; each of them had six wings:
with two they veiled their faces,
with two they veiled their feet,
and with two they hovered aloft.

They cried one to the other,
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!
All the earth is filled with his glory!”
At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook
and the house was filled with smoke.

Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed!
For I am a man of unclean lips,
living among a people of unclean lips;
yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me,
holding an ember that he had taken with tongs from the altar.

He touched my mouth with it and said,
“See, now that this has touched your lips,
your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
“Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”
“Here I am,” I said; “send me!” 

Responsorial Psalm PS 93:1AB, 1CD-2, 5

R. (1a) The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
And he has made the world firm, 
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed:
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.

Alleluia 1 PT 4:14

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you,
for the Spirit of God rests upon you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 10:24-33

Jesus said to his Apostles: 
“No disciple is above his teacher,
no slave above his master.
It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher,
for the slave that he become like his master.
If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul,
how much more those of his household!

“Therefore do not be afraid of them.
Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;
what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul;
rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy
both soul and body in Gehenna.
Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.
Even all the hairs of your head are counted.
So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Everyone who acknowledges me before others
I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.
But whoever denies me before others,
I will deny before my heavenly Father.”