Thursday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time
Jeremiah 31: 31-34; Mt 16: 13-23
By Deacon Larry Brockman
Lest we become too critical of Israel for breaking the covenant that the Lord made with them as we listen to the first reading, consider this: Haven’t we broken our covenant with God as well? Not just the covenant of Moses’ day, but rather, the New Covenant, the covenant promised in the New Testament?
Jesus promised us Eternal life if we believed that He was the Savior. That’s right, first we must really believe, and then we must follow after Jesus by using His example, the example left in the Gospel, the new way of living life, by first discerning and then doing the will of the Father, just like He, Jesus did.
And yet, which of us is not guilty of failing to do all that? In the Gospel, Jesus confirms in his talk with Peter and the disciples, straight up, that He is the Messiah. And he also tells Him straight up, that by following the will of His Father, He, Jesus, will suffer at the hands of the Jewish leaders, and then die, be buried, and rise from the dead. And what does his main man Peter do? This man who is living right alongside the God made man, who tells Jesus that he believes He is the Messiah? He doubts Him. He even rebukes Him for suggesting such a thing.
How about us, are we any better than Peter? How many times have we doubted, and not really believed? Belief implies trust, forbearance, patience, and calmness whenever we are confronted with trials. It means always knowing in our hearts, that is, believing with our hearts, that God is with us no matter what happens to us. And there is something else that we need to believe as well. Because if we believe that God is with us, and we bear up to whatever trials we are tested with, then we need to believe that the reward is great. Jeremiah sums the reward up very well this way: “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD. I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer will they have need to teach their friends and kinsmen how to know the LORD. All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD, for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more”.
Yes indeed, “after those days”, the days of our life on this earth, we shall all know Him, and our sins will be forgiven forever- such tremendous consolation, and such is our reward, to know God forever; to be in perfect harmony with Him; and to live happily with everyone else who is saved. Amen!
