Part of a bigger plan

Buying school clothes stinks. The sneakers you want are too expensive, and your mom says "no" to the Pokemon t-shirt. You end up arguing.

Shopping for school clothes takes all the fun out of going back to school!

Jesus' followers, the Apostles, felt like that about Jesus' dying. Knowing Jesus was going to die soon took all the fun out of the time they had with Him. In this week's Gospel (Matthew 16:21-27), Jesus gets frustrated with them.

Jesus told the Apostles that He would soon die to save the world. They were sad and angry at losing Him, and Peter said, "That should never happen to you!" "Get away from me, Satan!" Jesus answered. "You're thinking like a person, not like God."

That's how the Apostles felt about Jesus sometimes. It was hard to follow Jesus when people made fun of them, and knowing He was going to die didn't make it easier. At least when He was around, He was their friend and teacher!

Buying school clothes is a pain if you think it's another shopping trip, and you hate shopping. But it's easier if you remember buying clothes is just one part of a bigger plan: to go back to school, see your friends, learn new things and grow up more!

Jesus wanted His Apostles to look at His dying that way, too. It would be terrible to watch Him die and then be without Him. But if they would "think like God," they'd see that Jesus' dying was part of a bigger plan: to save the whole world.

To go to school, you have to "suffer through" buying clothes. To save the world, Jesus suffered through dying. But when you're done, you have new sneakers and feel like you could run forever; and when Jesus' dying was over, He knew He'd be in heaven, taking care of all of us...even when we're arguing about school clothes.

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Jesus, help me remember that buying school clothes can be fun! Amen.

(08-26-99)