By Philip Raj A csc –
Readings: Jas 2:1-9; Mk 8: 27-33
God wants all of us to love him and be good to our neighbours in small ways possible in our lives. In our earthly journey, we should ensure that we love God with our own freedom and live an other-centred life, where we give respect and priority for the well-being of others. When we do this, we can find meaning in our lives, and this is how we can go beyond living an ordinary life.
The first reading of today invites us to be impartial in our dealings with people we come across in our lives. At times, we respect people not for who they are but for the position they hold in society. Higher the position, greater is the respect we tend to give.
The first reading is challenging us to see things in a different perspective and change our attitude towards common people. The very fact that we are human beings, we deserve respect and dignity.
Moreover, all of us are equal in the eyes of God and he created us in his own image and likeness. The moment we show partiality on various grounds, we go against the will of God. The gospel reading is reminding us about who Jesus is for us.
In different life situations, we call Jesus with a number of names like the saviour, redeemer, friend, comforter, and so on. We have two choices before us, either to know Jesus more and more in order to love him or to love Jesus in order to know him more and more so that we can cement our relationship with him. Closer is our relationship with Jesus, deeper our faith becomes in him.