Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 131
Reading 1
The Lord GOD opens my
ear that I may hear;
and I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
my face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting.
The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
He is near who upholds my right;
if anyone wishes to oppose me,
let us appear together.
Who disputes my right?
Let that man confront me.
See, the Lord GOD is my help;
who will prove me wrong?
Responsorial Psalm
R. (9) I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I love the LORD because he has heard
my voice in supplication,
because he has inclined his ear to me
the day I called.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The cords of death encompassed me;
the snares of the netherworld seized upon me;
I fell into distress and sorrow,
and I called upon the name of the LORD,
"O LORD, save my life!"
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gracious is the LORD and just;
yes, our God is merciful.
The LORD keeps the little ones;
I was brought low, and he saved me.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
For he has freed my soul from death,
my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
I shall walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Reading 2
What good is it, my
brothers and sisters,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can that faith save him?
If a brother or sister has nothing to wear
and has no food for the day,
and one of you says to them,
"Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well, "
but you do not give them the necessities of the body,
what good is it?
So also faith of itself,
if it does not have works, is dead.
Indeed someone might say,
"You have faith and I have works."
Demonstrate your faith to me without works,
and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord
through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus and his disciples
set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples,
"Who do people say that I am?"
They said in reply,
"John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets."
And he asked them,
"But who do you say that I am?"
Peter said to him in reply,
"You are the Christ."
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.
He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."
He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
"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
and that of the gospel will save it."
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
As Christian, suffering will always be part of our lives. It is unavoidable, for Jesus Christ suffered and died for us so that we may obtain eternal life. The Book of Wisdom describes us as being, “forged in the furnace like gold.” This alludes to our sufferings now and in Purgatory. It is through suffering that our relationship with God is strengthened, and His love can be experienced more. Just as all friendships become stronger through crisis, our relationship with God is no different. We tend to relate better with people when there is a shared empathy, where each can relate to what the other has been through (good and bad). Jesus, the Word becoming flesh, enables this to happen between us and God. This is why Jesus describes Himself as the gate:
“I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture.”
He then says later,
“No one comes to the Father except through me.”
This is the reason why there is a Christian Tradition to look at our sufferings as if we are carrying our own cross. It serves as a constant reminder that, just as Jesus was carrying His cross, we are carrying one to. We can then relate to Jesus and He can relate to us. We can then relate better with our fellow Christians who might be experience their own sufferings.
The Book of Isaiah describes a beautiful confidence in God. The servant’s ears were opened to God’s word and the result was the ability to accept all sorts of abuse and torment without losing his faith or confidence in God. In fact, he even challenges those who confront him:
“See, the Lord GOD is my help;
who will prove me wrong?”
This comes from the passages known as The Suffering Servant. It is seen as an early personification of Jesus Christ. Through these passages the theme of suffering, faith, and restoration are emphasized. It is through faith in God that we endure all hardships and will then be better for it. No suffering is forever, but the love of God is.
In the Gospel reading today, Jesus began to openly discuss what was going to happen to Him. He told them about how He was going to be rejected, persecuted, and ultimately killed. This was immediately after it was revealed that He was indeed the Messiah and, in the Book of Matthew, the Son of the Living God. You probably could imagine the confusion and anxiety this created among the disciples. The one they were waiting for to restore Israel was now destined to be taken from them. This led to a very human response from Peter, who began to basically contrive how to avoid all these things. Jesus replied by saying,
“You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."
It is a reminder to us that it is in human nature to avoid suffering, yet it is in Jesus’ nature to not only accept the suffering but to embrace it. It was through Jesus’ crucifixion that the resurrection was achieved and death was conquered. We have the opportunity for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life through the Resurrection. We also have the opportunity to experience special graces on our journey to the resurrection through our personal Passion, which we walk with Jesus continuously.
I remember having lunch with a good friend of mine. His name was Deacon Bruce. He was an older gentleman, about 86 years old . He had been volunteering at MCI Concord for several years now. His wife just died after a long illness. He had suffered greatly along with her as he witnessed her health deteriorate for years. He grabbed me by my hands and with tears in his eyes said,
“Tom, I do not know why God still wants me here. I have done everything I wanted to do in this life and I am ready to go. Why doesn’t He take me?”
I was given a very special gift at that moment. His faith and his love of God was so beautiful in that moment. He embraced his suffering as Jesus did and was walking with His cross, knowing what was going to come afterwards. With that exchange, I too was walking with him and helping him with that cross.
As Christians, we are stronger and better because of our sufferings, not despite them. We can be more joyous because of them. As the Apostle Peter wrote,
Let those suffering in accordance to God’s will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good.”
Deacon Tom
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