Witness

Jesus said to his Apostles:
“Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves;
so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.
But beware of men,
for they will hand you over to courts
and scourge you in their synagogues,
and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake
as a witness before them and the pagans.
When they hand you over,
do not worry about how you are to speak
or what you are to say.
You will be given at that moment what you are to say.
For it will not be you who speak
but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Brother will hand over brother to death,
and the father his child;
children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but whoever endures to the end will be saved.
When they persecute you in one town, flee to another.
Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel
before the Son of Man comes.”
Matthew 10:16-23

Prayer

Dear Father your Apostles suffered much to bring Jesus' name to others as it was told to them. They are known to us as saints where we pray for their intercession to you and your Son. They continue to do your work in death as well as in life. Just as your Son has done the same, but in different regards. We have him with us in the Eucharist where he is found all over the world. They have endured for Jesus' sake and we sometimes persecute our own in our day for the sake of Jesus holy name. May we endure for the sake of God's Kingdom as his witnesses. Amen

The Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas

Do not love the world or the things of the world.
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world,
sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life,
is not from the Father but is from the world.
Yet the world and its enticement are passing away.
But whoever does the will of God remains forever.
1 John 2:15-17

Reflection:
It is with the understanding that if we love the things of the world we don't have love for the Father in us. It's true! Thinking back to the years when possessions were a focus in life, and the need to have things, really did put God on the back burner. So many times we think of the things we need and want without thought to God and the gift he gives to us. It is rare when a person thinks and asks God for the things they need.

In the reading today it is spoken about sensual lust, enticement for the eyes and a pretentious life. Back then they wore more covering than we do today, so lust is rampant, enticement is constant and we live in a way that we have pretty much everything. As they say all this stuff in the world shall pass away, and how true that is, because possessions are nothing unless well preserved and even then eventually it passes away. But who ever does the will of God remains forever.

In this we read of the many who have come before us, in the lives of the apostles, martyr, and saints who have done the will of God. They will outlast any possessions we will ever have. And knowing this we still want the things of the world, rather than a Holy life.