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Gospel Reading for August 08, 2025 – Matthew 16: 24-28
NOTHING
Jesus said to his disciples, “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 will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay each according to his conduct. Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”
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“ . . . what can one give in exchange for his life?”
More or less, we can say that in exchange for Jesus’ life, he gave us salvation. But how about us? What can we give in exchange for our life? NOTHING. We have but one life. It is all we have. So, our choice is to live it to the fullest and according to the will of the Creator, or to destroy it in our quest for wealth, fame and power.
Living life to the fullest and according to the will of the Creator leads to everlasting bliss, while living life with a quest for wealth, fame and power leads to eternal destruction. In short, how we lived our life on earth will determine what will happen to us after our life on earth.
Let us ponder on this beautiful song written by Leslie Bricusse, FILL THE WORLD WITH LOVE –
In the morning of my life, I shall look to the sunrise;
At a moment in my life when the world is new;
And the blessing I shall ask, is that God will grant me
to be brave and strong and true
and to fill the world with love, my whole life through.
In the noontime of my life, I shall look to the sunshine;
At a moment in my life when the sky is blue;
And the blessing I shall ask, will remain unchanging:
to be brave and strong and true
and to fill the world with love, my whole life through.
In the evening of my life, I shall look to the sunset;
At a moment in my life when the night is due;
And the question I shall ask, only I can answer:
was I brave and strong and true?
Did I fill the world with love?
Did I fill the world with love?
Did I fill the world with love?
Did I fill the world with love
my whole life through?
