Daily Reflection – Jul 15, 2018
Sunday 15 July 2018
First Reading: AM 7:12-15
Responsorial Psalm:
Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
PS 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14
Second Reading: EPH 1:3-14 OR 1:3-10
Gospel Reading: MK 6:7-13
Today’s Note: Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gospel Reading:
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey
but a walking stick—
no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals
but not a second tunic.
He said to them,
“Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them.”
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
Reflection:
He chose us in him, before the foundation of the world. (Ephesians 1:4)
In June of last year, the United Nations estimated that there were 7.6 billion people living on Earth. In an even more jaw-dropping statistic, the Population Reference Bureau has estimated that approximately 108 billion people have lived on Earth since the beginning.
So can you imagine that before God created the world, in the midst of these 108 billion people who would live in it, he knew you perfectly and chose you to be with him?
When we hear that God chose us before the foundation of the world, it can sound so theoretical. We think of “us” as a universal group: God’s people. And while we are all part of this large group, we are not just anonymous members of the crowd. God’s love for us is not generalized. It is personal and specific. He loves you for who you are. He loves you in the best way you can be loved.
As overwhelming as this may sound, let this truth sink in today. Even if there were 100 trillion people, it doesn’t matter. You—with all your quirks and idiosyncrasies—were in God’s mind and in his heart from the beginning. He created you with a specific purpose, and he longs for you to be with him forever!
Here’s one way to ponder this amazing truth: take today’s second reading, and wherever you see the word “us,” substitute your name. For example, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed [your name] in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose [your name] in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him” (Ephesians 1:3-4). Reread the whole passage slowly a couple of times. Proclaim it out loud. Let God expand your understanding of how much he loves you. Then bask in that love today.
“Father, I am so amazed to know that I am in your heart. Help me to trust and rely on your personal love today and every day.”
