YEAR OF MISSION : TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

There’s a certain sadness in today’s Gospel as people walk away from Jesus not being able to ‘stomach’ the things he says. People walk away from following where he leads because, maybe, what he says is too much for them; it’s too challenging. Peter speaks up for the Twelve. Even the Twelve might not fully understand what Jesus is preaching but where else are they to go? The Gospel message fires them up. They know God’s love in Jesus; they know God is near to them in Jesus. It doesn’t mean they find everything straightforward and simple – even they must have struggled. Who shall we go to? You may know people who have drifted away, wandered off, left, walked another journey either because they feel they don’t belong or because they feel ‘it’s not for them’. It doesn’t mean we stop caring nor does it mean that they have no place. Ours is a mission of constantly reaching out towards others, not just patting our own backs. You and I cross paths with many who walk different paths and maybe they once walked a similar one to us. Let God’s love be revealed in you; let his gentleness shine through; let him walk alongside of them because of you.