Friday, SEPTEMBER 23, 201625th
Week in Ordinary Time
First Reading:
Eccl 3: 1-11
Gospel Reading:
Lk 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)
When a businessman evaluates the business climate he is doing environmental scanning. When a strategist evaluates the impact of his product on consumers, he is doing marketing. The common denominator is evaluation and sizing up.
Jesus did something similar. He gathered his followers one day near Caesarea Philippi to size up the impact of his missionary activities on people. The venue was significant because Caesarea Philippi was where people built edifices in honor of different pagan gods. It was like checking where he stood among the gods when he asked them about what outsiders thought of him.
If we read further down chapter 9 of the Gospel according to Luke we come across Peter’s answer to Jesus’ query. “You are the Messiah of God,” Peter answered. But while this answer was correct his understanding of it was erroneous. He saw “Messiahship” from the perspective of the world. Thus Peter instinctively dissuaded Jesus from going through his Passion and Death. Jesus rebuked Peter for this and told him, “Get behind me, Satan.” Satan means a stumbling block, and Peter was acting like one. He still acted this way at the Garden of Gethsemane when he drew his sword and cut the ear of one of the arresting soldiers in an attempt to avert Jesus’ capture.
Today Jesus wants to evaluate what we think of him, not to size up any advantage he could derive therefrom but to calibrate our spiritual growth. This is to assess how much grace we need to grow deeper in spirituality. We can be as quick as Peter was in giving the right answer considering the many things we know about Jesus. A full- blown dissertation would be an academic defense, a public debate would be mental calisthenics, but an exhibit of the fruits of our spiritual journey with Jesus to Calvary would amount to worship – a step closer to salvation! (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM, MMExM, MAPM, REB. Email: [email protected].
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