Friday, September 25, 2015
25th Week in Ordinary Time 1st reading:
Haggai 2.1-9
Gospel: Luke 9:18-22
One day when Jesus was praying alone, not far from his disciples, he asked them, “What do people say about me?” And they answered, “Some say that you are John the Baptist; others say that you are Elijah, and still others that you are one of the former prophets risen from the dead.” Again Jesus asked them, “Who then do you say I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God.” Then Jesus spoke to them, giving them strict orders not to tell this to anyone.
And he added, “The Son of Man must suffer many things. He will be rejected by the elders and chief priests and teachers of the Law, and put to death. Then after three days he will be raised to life.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
We have heard of the so-called Johari Window, named after the first names of its inventors Joseph Luft and Harry Ingram. It is a technique designed to help people understand their relationship with self and with other people. Under this technique, from a given set of 56 adjectives, a participant picks five or six that he feels describes best his own personality. Peers also pick five or six from the same list, which they think describe best that particular participant. These adjectives are then mapped into four quadrants identified as the open, blind, hidden and unknown windows.
The open quadrant contains attributes the person owns up to and which others affirm. The blind quadrant contains attributes known to others but unknown to the person concerned. The hidden quadrant contains attributes the person alone knows about himself. The unknown quadrant contains attributes known to no one. Jesus was inquiring about this unknown quadrant in today’s Gospel reading. Peter’s answer was correct but it heightened peoples’ longing for a political liberator.
If Jesus were to confront us with the same question, our answer may not differ much from Peter’s. But this is not as material as the issue on our readiness to embrace a suffering messiah and our willingness to suffer what it takes to substantiate such readiness. Peter claimed he had given up everything for Jesus. But if we zoom in on what he had given up, we could be dealing with tattered nets, nagging mother-in-law and a livelihood that was as uncertain as the weather controlling the sea.
Are we ready for a suffering messiah with all the attendant consequences? A yes answer may be useless for purposes of perseverance in genuine discipleship, unless we have explored all the quadrants of our inner selves. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: [email protected]. Website: www.frdan.org.
May comment ka ba sa column ni Father Dan? May tanong ka ba sa kanya?
I-type ang BANDERA REACT
i-send sa 4467.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Bandera. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.