Part XXXXIV
Jesus said: ‘I have power to take it up again; and this is the command I have received from my Father.’
When we are in darkness, we become blind, and without Jesus' light, we cannot perceive spiritual things or experience God's Kingdom. We know that Peter rejected Jesus three times before the cock crowed, as Jesus had warned him before his Passion. Perhaps it was one of the lowest points in St. Peter's spiritual life. Then we must decide how much we want to change our attitude towards Jesus. Perhaps we deny Jesus in our minds many times in a day ‘Then he started cursing and swearing, ‘I do not know the man.’ And at once the cock crowed’ (Matt. 26: 74) Peter denied Jesus because he was scared of the crowds and the authorities. He was disregarding the love and care that Jesus had given him. But Jesus never abandoned him, forgave him, and forgot what he had done to him.
It was Jesus’s divine mercy that he forgive and forget our sins. Jesus never gets away from his own flocks. ‘No one takes it from me; I lay it down of my own free will, and as I have power to lay it down, so I have power to lay it down, so I have power to take it up again; and this is the command I have received from my Father. (Jon. 10: 18) He never allows anybody or any powers in the universe to take away His flocks from Him. The Father in heaven has given each souls to His own Son to take care off.
We should prepare ourselves to approach our Lord and His Heavenly Kingdom. Otherwise in the Judgement Day we will be rejected from His Kingdom. Jesus tells us about the Last Judgement in Matt. 25: 31- 46: ‘When the Son of man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory. All nations will be assembled before him and he will separate people one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats. He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.’ Jesus will separate the people of Light and Darkness. The work in the Light will enlighten our mind, body and soul. Jesus is the real light which empowers us to do all good things according to His will. Matthew 25:34–38 (NJB): Then the King will say to those on his right hand, “Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take as your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome, 36 lacking clothes and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.” 37 Then the upright will say to him in reply, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome, lacking clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we find you sick or in prison and go to see you?” 40 And the King will answer, “In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.” 41 Then he will say to those on his left hand, “Go away from me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. When we do good for others, especially the poor and weak in society, Jesus will always remember it. Lord, all we have are your gifts. ‘What made you so important? What have you got that was not given to you? And if it is given to you, why are you boasting as though it were your own?’ (1 Cor. 4:7) There is nothing of our own; whatever we are having is the gift from God. Then why we are in greedy, because of our pride and it is a mortal sin against God our Father.
A Prayer: Lord, I am unworthy, unholy, and unfit to accomplish any useful service in Your kingdom. But one thing I don't understand is why you love me so much and think I'm overly affectionate. This is solely because your Love and Mercy were considered in your eyes. I don't have the words to express your love for me because the words are in your hands and belong to you alone.: ‘for we are in His hand, yes, ourselves and our sayings, and all intellectual and all practical knowledge’ (Wis. 7: 16)
