Jesus takin’ us to the street

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The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time, Year I, 21 February 2025
Genesis 11:1-9     <'[[[[><  +  ><]]]]'>     Mark 8:34-9:1

What a blessed Friday,
Lord Jesus!
You are still with us,
about to cross the week
into another new set of
seven days but,
here you are again
reminding us
of our journey
that's not to a party
and all fun
but to the Cross:

Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it” (Mark 8:34-35).

As I prayed on this scene,
Jesus,
I could hear both the murmuring
and deafening silence
of people in the crowd 
especially when you spoke
of denying, losing one's self
and that dreaded Roman
punishment, the cross!
But, yes, Jesus,
even deep down in me,
I felt at a loss...
OK na sana Lord ang lahat,
bakit may paglimot pa ng sarili
at pagpapasan ng krus?

Forgive me,
Jesus for being so used
to your words without really
appreciating them,
masticating them enough
to extract their meaning
and timeliness;
many times,
I have that attitude of the
the Tower of Babel
when all we want is to be on top,
to be in control
that is why you confused
them with many languages at that time
because we always forget
you speak only one language
in Jesus:
the language of love
by self-giving,
by self-sacrifice,
by being one in you in
the Holy Spirit.

Take us to the streets,
Jesus, to keep your words
your language
lived and spoken
especially among
the poor
and suffering.
Amen.