and a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Each one
will have as enemies, those of one’s own family.
Whoever loves father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me. And whoever loves son
or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take up his cross and
follow me, is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life, for
my sake, will find it.
Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcomes him who sent
me. The one who welcomes a prophet, as a prophet, will receive the reward of a prophet; the
one who welcomes a just man, because he is a just man, will receive the reward of a just man.
And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, because he is my
disciple, I assure you, he will not go unrewarded.”
When Jesus had finished giving his twelve disciples these instructions, he went on from
there, to teach and to proclaim his message in their towns.
Reflect
There’s a famous saying that those who do not remember history are condemned to repeat
it. That’s a shorthand way of saying that those who do not learn from past mistakes will make
them again and again. But there is another danger in falling to remember history: we forget
to be grateful for the good that has happened and for those who have helped us. A new king
came to Egypt who did not remember that Joseph had saved the nation during a great famine.
Instead of being grateful, he treated Joseph’s descendants as enemies, making them slaves.
We too often forget our personal history and our faith history. We do not recall the struggles
of the past so we either treat today’s problems as a sign of doom or take today’s peace for
granted. We forget that we stand on others’ shoulders and that some have been cast aside
to allow us to get where we are today. This day, let us look to our past with gratitude so that
we can shape our future with hope, living according to God’s plan.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2023