Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Friday of the 18th week in ordinary time, August 7, 2026

Delivered by Gladys from the Parish of Saint Gabriel in the Diocese of Bandung, Indoneisa. Nahum 1: 15; 2: 2; 3: 1-3.6-7; Rs psalm: Deut 32: 35cd-36ab.39abcd.41; Matthew 16: 24-28.IF LIFE CAN BE EXCHANGED Our meditation today has the theme: If Life Can BeExchanged. The exchange of goods in the past was done in a barter system, forexample, it was occurred when bananas were brought from mountains zone in orderto be exchanged with fish from beach zone. However, times have changed and theexchange system also changed, and so it is no longer the activity ofexchanging goods but buying goods. We use money to buy goods in markets andshopping centers. Can a person be bought or exchanged in this way? Forexample, a person goes to a rich man, then he is taken by that rich person withamount of money as his value to be given to the person's family. Perhaps thiskind of purchase could be happened, but such incident should be classified assomething abnormal and even a crime in our society. This type of exchange takes place in the context ofmarket and trade. The Lord Jesus teaches us a type of life exchange, which isnot in the context of trade or market. He presents a new lifestyle that bringssalvation to our bodies and souls. To those who choose to follow Him, theprinciple condition is to make a life exchange, that is, a change ofpersonality and the spirit of life. The lifestyle of this world with its temporalachievements is no doubt has made us selfish, enjoying easy life, and wanted tobe served. Jesus demands that this style is to be exchanged with the newlifestyle of His own, which is a self-denial or renunciation. Its main symbolis the carrying of the cross. This act complements what God has done for eachone of us, when He bought us from this world with a very high price. We werealready made His own by the sacrament of Baptism and by our membership in the Church.So we experience an exchange of life in the sense that we belong to Jesus andthe lifestyle of this world is exchanged with the one of Jesus Christ, namelythe self-denial. This does not mean that the world, culture and societyare no longer part of our lives, or rather we lose our right to have thisworld. We actually still experience and have all in this world, but we haveassumed a higher dignity for ourselves being people from this world, namely thefollowers of Christ. We have this dignity and we feel how meaningful we are.The proof is that we promise to befaithful to God through our words and deeds. However, we are not totally freefrom temptation and sin. In fact, the great challenge for sons and daughters ofGod is to maintain their dignity. The prophet Nahum in his preaching said that,God always wants to restore human life that has been damaged by sin. As sonsand daughters of God, we are so special because we are always being restored bythe good and merciful Lord.Let'spray. In the name of the Father ... O Father, give us your power to sanctifyourselves through our words and deeds, and may our lives today be pleasing toYou. Hail Mary ... In the name of the Father ...