Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were overwhelmed with grief (Mt 17:22-23).

This is the second time in the Gospel of Matthew that Jesus shares with his disciples about his passion. They are overwhelmed with grief, because their focus is on the first part of Jesus’ statement that he will be handed over to death. They do not understand the second part about how he will be raised on the third day. How could they? There was no point of reference for the disciples.

For us today, we can read these statements and gloss over them a bit too easily because we celebrate Easter each year, we celebrate that Jesus has risen, but do we really take in what that means for our lives? Does the fact, the reality, that Jesus has conquered death and become the first born of the new creation really matter to us?

The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus matters! The missing piece may be that we just need to learn to recognize his guiding voice in our lives. He understands each of our struggles and tribulations, our sins and our failings, as well as our deepest hopes and dreams. Jesus also knows how best to communicate with us because he meets us where we are and will walk with us. Jesus will help us to bear our crosses, he will help us to see our sins and repent from them, and he will give us the encouragement, guidance and tools to actualize our hopes and dreams. May we turn to him today with trust and hope, let us listen for his voice in the stillness of our hearts, and say yes to the invitation for a new life that he offers us today.

Photo of an icon of Jesus my Aunt Nicky gave me.

Link for the Mass readings for Monday, August 13, 2018: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/081318.cfm