Hello everyone! Heyo! Welcome back to Scattering Flowers with Elise and Miles, a podcast where we read the Daily Gospels and the Saint of the Day.
Let’s get started! Today is Friday, March 6th, and the Gospel reading is Matthew 21, 33-43 and 45-46.
And the scripture to reflect on is Matthew 21, 42. Jesus said to them, Have you ever read in the scriptures, The very stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
This was the Lord’s doing, and it’s marvelous in your eyes. In today’s Gospel, Jesus uses a parable to explain what happened between God and the people of Israel.
God chose those people to be His, and they didn’t listen.
The landowner in this case is God.
God sent prophets, the first messengers, or rent collectors, but the people didn’t listen to them.
God kept trying to reach out and finally sent Jesus, His Son.
Surely the religious leaders would listen to Him, right?
Nope.
Jesus was almost predicting His death here, knowing that the leaders would have Him killed.
But Jesus knew this was necessary.
He knew death would not be the end.
No matter what happened, Jesus would be the foundation of the church.
He was the cornerstone around which everything else was to be built. Today’s saying to the day is in Perpetua and Felicity.
Their birth is unknown, but they both died in the year 203.
They are the patron saint of expecting mothers.
The name Christian was worth so much to Perpetua and Felicity that they died for it.
They lived in Carthage about 200 years after Jesus had died, and the emperor had made Christianity illegal.
Perpetua and Felicity were Christians, but hadn’t been baptized yet.
Even though they were risking their lives, they chose to go through their plans for baptism.
Soldiers caught and arrested the two women, but that didn’t stop their plans.
They were baptized in prison.
They were soon sentenced to death and were thrown into an arena.
The crowd cheered in excitement.
Perpetua and Felicity themselves were joyful, but for an entirely different reason.
They knew that they were going to heaven. Jesus made a new church, raising up disciples to tell other people about him and to establish the family of God.
Guess who that includes?
Us! We get to be a part of God’s plan to maintain and encourage faith in others.
Do you think that we can help to build up the church?
We can tell others about Jesus. Saint Felicity said that she would brave her death because Jesus would help endure her suffering.
Even though they were barely baptized, they still loved God and sacrificed themselves for him.
We too should always choose God first, no matter what the consequences.
Let’s pray.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Dear Jesus, help me to bring your kingdom to those around me.
And help me to understand the worth of the name Christian, just as Saint Perpetua and Felicity did.
Saint Perpetua and Felicity pray for us.
Amen.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Thank you so much for listening.
We’ll be back next week, scattering more flowers.
See ya!