Hebrews 13:1-8. Psalm 27:1, 3, 5, 8-9. Mark 6:14-29.
Christ Jesus is the same today, as yesterday, and forever.
Today's first reading is a collection of the author's words of encouragement—not just applicable to his (or her) audience alone, but also to us here. The author exhorts the readers to continue in mutual love, to give importance to hospitality, to remember prisoners (and take care of them), to respect the marriage covenant, to be moral and faithful in marriage, not to depend on money, to be content with what we have at present, to rely only on God, and to imitate the good example of their leaders. The above string of exhortations end with an even more beautiful statement, with which we are very familiar: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."
In our Eucharistic liturgy, we have been reading from the Letter to the Hebrews for the last few weeks, and we are nearing the end of the Letter. In fact, we are reading the last chapter of this New Testament Book. And we will conclude our reading from this Book on Saturday. Perhaps it would be to our benefit to pick up this Book in our free time, and go through it leisurely.
Our Lord is the same here in the present, as he was in the past, and so will he be in the future. We have no worries if God is our reference point. But if our reference points are the passing things of this world, we will be disappointed one day or another. The transitory nature of the material things will teach us wisdom, if only we allow them to disappoint us and make us lean on truth and goodness itself! But why to take the long route after all! Why to take a detour when our Lord Jesus is revealing himself to be the only certainty amidst the confusion and the mess of the world!
Let us pray for true wisdom today as the Psalmist in Psalm 27 beautifully formulates that the Lord is a sure help, the only refuge in fact.
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The Lord is my life's refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
Though an army encamp against me,
my heart will not fear;
Though war be waged upon me,
even then will I trust.
May we discover this goodness in the world, and in the persons we meet today: to put all our trust in God who is our salvation and hope.
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