Are we concerned about leaving behind a legacy when we are dead and gone? Do we want to be remembered for what we did? As I have aged and now am beginning to see folks my age or even younger pass on, thoughts such as these have been playing on my mind.
Yes it would be wonderful if I am remembered as a man of God who tried his utmost to remain steadfast and faithful. But what would be greater is how I made people feel while I was with them. Did they feel the presence of the Lord my God when I spoke and ministered to them. Were they healed, delivered, set free to experience the love of their creator? Did I stir hearts to want to know Him in depth such that they experience His peace and love? How many souls have I saved for His glory?
Well to fulfil this hope and desire then I must ensure that my ‘temple’ that is the temple of the Holy Spirit, is one of prayer, a dwelling place of the Lord my God. I must be able to bear fruit in and out of season! For all things are possible for the one I serve with all my heart, strength and soul. I must fill my heart with His mercy and love, so I forgive readily just as I am forgiven by Him.
Renew me Lord and let my faith deepen, so that I may glorify in all that I say and do; for all the remaining days of my life. Amen
Saints Marcellinus and Peter pray for us…
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First reading
Ecclesiasticus 44:1,9-13
Let us praise illustrious men
Let us praise illustrious men,
our ancestors in their successive generations.
Some have left no memory,
and disappeared as though they had not existed,
they are now as though they had never been,
and so too, their children after them.
But here is a list of generous men
whose good works have not been forgotten.
In their descendants there remains
a rich inheritance born of them.
Their descendants stand by the covenants
and, thanks to them, so do their children’s children.
Their offspring will last for ever,
their glory will not fade.
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Gospel
Mark 11:11-26
The fig tree; the cleansing of the Temple
After he had been acclaimed by the crowds, Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple. He looked all round him, but as it was now late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
Next day as they were leaving Bethany, he felt hungry. Seeing a fig tree in leaf some distance away, he went to see if he could find any fruit on it, but when he came up to it he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season for figs. And he addressed the fig tree. ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again’ he said. And his disciples heard him say this.
So they reached Jerusalem and he went into the Temple and began driving out those who were selling and buying there; he upset the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those who were selling pigeons. Nor would he allow anyone to carry anything through the Temple. And he taught them and said, ‘Does not scripture say: My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples? But you have turned it into a robbers’ den.’ This came to the ears of the chief priests and the scribes, and they tried to find some way of doing away with him; they were afraid of him because the people were carried away by his teaching. And when evening came he went out of the city.
Next morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered to the roots. Peter remembered. ‘Look, Rabbi,’ he said to Jesus, ‘the fig tree you cursed has withered away.’ Jesus answered, ‘Have faith in God. I tell you solemnly, if anyone says to this mountain, “Get up and throw yourself into the sea,” with no hesitation in his heart but believing that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. I tell you therefore: everything you ask and pray for, believe that you have it already, and it will be yours. And when you stand in prayer, forgive whatever you have against anybody, so that your Father in heaven may forgive your failings too. But if you do not forgive, your Father in heaven will not forgive your failings either.’
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