Have you ever heard someone begin a conversation by saying, “Mark my words,” “Listen up and listen carefully,” or “A word to the wise”?
These are verbal cues that we are about to hear something very important and that we should give the speaker our undivided attention, for the words we are about to hear could have a big impact on our life.
In the latter half of today’s second reading from Timothy, we are likewise directed to pay close attention when we read the preamble, “This saying is trustworthy,” for what we are about to hear could have a huge impact on our spiritual life.
The reading continues, “If we have died with him we shall also live with him; if we persevere we shall also reign with him. But if we deny him he will deny us. If we are unfaithful he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.”
These are words of great comfort to me. What do these “trustworthy words” call me to do? What impact do they have on my life? What direction are they leading me?
As Catholics and as Christians, we want to die with Christ, but as the reading aptly points out, to do so, we must first “live with Him.”
When we find time today in our hectic world to reflect upon our lives, can ask ourselves, “Am I truly living with Christ? Is He part of my daily experience, or is He just someone I think about on Sunday at Mass? Am I putting action to my faith, or will it end when I finish this reflection and not start anew until I read tomorrow’s reflection?”
The last sentence is the most powerful for me, because it reaffirms that in spite of my sinfulness and my unfaithful ways, God cannot be unfaithful to his promise to me. God will remain faithful and be there for me – and for you – 24⁄7. He is always ready to listen to our pleas for forgiveness, our prayers and our petitions.
This realization makes waking up tomorrow wonderful, because I know that God will be there in the morning waiting for me, ready to put his hand on my shoulder and guide me throughout the day.
Peace.
Steve Scholer
I came to Creighton to attend law school in 1976 and following 5 years of private practice I started what I thought would be a 4 year job to help Fr. James Hoff, S.J. raise funds for the Campaign for Creighton. Little did I know that the many wonderful people I would soon meet, both here on campus and across the entire country, over the next few years would lead me to stay and continue to support the mission of this University. My wife is a Creighton graduate and our son, Frank, is a Xavier undergraduate and Creighton law graduate. Our daughter, Paige, has both her undergraduate and master’s degree from Creighton.
I do not participate in social media websites so posting my personal interpretation about what the readings mean to me is a novel experience for me. However, being required to put pen to paper forced me to become more reflective about what God is really trying to say to me and this has helped me in my daily prayer life - to slow down and let the Word of God dwell within me instead of racing through the daily devotions.
