Today’s Gospel starts out with one of our favorite people in scripture, Peter. He is one of my heroes. Why? Because if he could make it, I’ve got a good chance to make it also!
Apparently, Peter was watching the disciple John follow Jesus. I am sure that everyone at the Last Supper saw John laying his head on Jesus’ chest. Today that might be considered somewhat scandalous. What would you think if you walked into the Last Supper and saw that in person? What would your first reaction be? It might be hard to explain. We now know that the one “whom Jesus loved” was John. He was all in!
Why would Peter ask Jesus such a question? One could think that Peter might be somewhat jealous of the relationship between John and Jesus. Remember, that sometimes there were power struggles between the disciples. I’m not saying that there’s one here but Jesus straightens it out real quick. He basically tells Peter to back off because it’s no concern of his. Jesus makes it clear that Peter’s job is to follow Jesus and not to worry about John. Somehow Peter took away from that conversation that he thought Jesus said that John would not die.
This is just a small example of things going haywire by flapping one’s jaw. It looks like this was one of many problems that Jesus had to handle. What can we glean from this? Have you ever had the experience of walking out of the confessional and within fifteen seconds some crazy thing went through your head and you felt like you should turn around and walk back in. I confess that it has happened to me.
So, in this new year 2023 once again we have the opportunity to make some healthy changes in our lives. Have you taken the time to start the new year with some character building? In other words, making changes to your character. It can be a difficult process. Why? Because, the body, mind, and spirit are so used to doing things a certain way that they do not want to change. I’m sure you’ve heard the words “muscle memory”. That is the closest thing that I can think of in regard to making a character change. If you are ready to dive into the area of character change, I suggest lots of prayer. And hang in there! You can do it with God’s help!
We all know where Peter ended up and that gives us great hope that we can make great strides in making character changes that are pleasing to God!
Serving with joy!
Daily Reading
Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr
Readings for the Memorial of Saint Boniface, bishop and martyr Reading 1 Tb 1:3; 2:1a-8 I, Tobit, have walked all the days of my lifeon the paths of truth and…
Saint of the Day
Saint Norbert
Saint Norbert founded the order with the most difficult name to pronounce and spell—Praemonstratensians. Perhaps that’s why they go by the name of Norbertines. But this order was anything but hard to appreciate when it comes to the work they did. They were very effective in converting heretics and reconciling enemies.