Sunday, June 23, 2013
12th Sunday
in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Zec 12;10-11; 13-1
2nd Reading: Gal 3: 26-29
Gospel: Luke 9:18-24
Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.'”
Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said in reply, “The Messiah of God.” He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone. 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.”
Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assi-milated Life Experience)
Peter gave the correct answer that Jesus was the Messiah. But it was an answer derived from his wrong perception of “messiahship”. It was important that Jesus checked on his followers’ perception of who he was because he had very little time left to educate them about his identity as suffering messiah.
Jesus gave the following formula of discipleship: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” The elements of Christian life, then, are as follows: 1). the follower must deny himself; 2) he must take up his cross, and; 3) he must follow Jesus. The absence of any of these invalidates the discipleship.
It is easy to spot a discipleship that lacks the first element. If one is still full of himself, he is a hypocrite. It is likewise easy to spot a discipleship that lacks the second element. If after positive diagnosis of a terminal illness, for example, a Church benefactor takes God to task for being “ungrateful”, there is a big chance he has never been a true disciple from the start.
Peter’s answer lacked the second element. Suffering was not in his vocabulary because he wanted a political messiah. “Get behind me, Satan”, Jesus told Peter when he protested about Jesus’ anticipation of his Passion. It was a reminder to Peter that he was only a follower, and therefore should get behind Jesus and support him both in victory and in suffering.
Jesus is asking you the same question today. Who do you say that Jesus is? Make sure your answer accommodates all three elements of discipleship. Any element that cannot be accommodated will not only render your answer incorrect but will also invalidate your discipleship. —Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email:dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website: www.frdan.org.
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