25TH FRIDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Luke 9:18-22) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
- NHA CHUA CHA
- Sep 26
- 4 min read
FIRST READING - Hg 2:1-9
"In just a little while, I will fill this house with glory."
A reading from the Book of Haggai
1 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month,[a] the word of the Lord came through Haggai the prophet: 2 Speak to the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and to the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak, and to the remnant of the people:
3 Who is left among you[b] who saw this house in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem like nothing in your eyes?4 Now be strong, Zerubbabel—oracle of the Lord— be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, high priest, Be strong, all you people of the land—oracle of the Lord—and work! For I am with you—oracle of the Lord of hosts.5 This is the commitment I made to you when you came out of Egypt. My spirit remains in your midst; do not fear!
6 For thus says the Lord of hosts:[c]
In just a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.7 I will shake all the nations, so that the treasures of all the nations will come in. And I will fill this house with glory— says the Lord of hosts.
8 Mine is the silver and mine the gold—oracle of the Lord of hosts.
9 Greater will be the glory of this house the latter more than the former—says the Lord of hosts; And in this place I will give you peace—[d] oracle of the Lord of hosts.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Lk 9:18-22
“The Messiah of God. The Son of Man must suffer greatly.”
✠From the Gospel according to Luke
18 Once when Jesus was praying in solitude,[a] and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’” 20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said in reply, “The Messiah of God.”[b] 21 He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.
22 He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.”
25TH FRIDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Luke 9:18-22)
THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
Dear People of God,
The Word of God in today's Gospel recounts that Jesus was praying alone to God the Father with His disciples present. He asked them: “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
With the great miracles that Jesus performed for the people, they thought that He was a great prophet or a very sublime and gifted prophet, because He could do all things. They wanted to praise Him and enthrone Him as king—those were human thoughts of the mystery of Jesus Christ, the God who came to earth as a human being. At that very moment, He asked His disciples: "But who do you say that I am?" Jesus wanted to ask His disciples who were closest to Him, to see what they thought of their Master.
When they were with Jesus, the disciples realized that He is the Almighty One, the One with full authority, sent into the world to save sinners and bring healing to those suffering in both body and soul. Therefore, Saint Peter confessed: You are Jesus Christ, the one who is to come into the world. When He knew the disciples' faith and conviction that He was the Messiah to come into the world, He immediately forbade them from revealing that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, because His hour had not yet come.
Then Jesus knew that His disciples were thinking like the people, they believed that He was an earthly king. So He immediately reminded His disciples that: “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed.”
Before the thoughts of the disciples and the people who regarded Him as an earthly king, He wants to remind them that the way of God coming into the world is not according to the way human thinking, which is to gain worldly glory and honor. Instead, He desires them to aim for eternal life in the afterlife. To have eternal life, one must go through the sufferings of the cross as the Son of God Himself who voluntarily sacrificed Himself to die to redeem humanity.
The Word of God today, God calls everyone to:
To believe that Jesus Christ is God, who came into the world to redeem humanity.
To be conformed to Jesus Christ, suffer with Him, so that through the suffering of the Cross, humankind will step into glory—into the eternal life in the Kingdom of His Father, which is the glorious Kingdom of Heaven to come.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Comments