Friday, September 28, 2018
25th Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Ecc 3:1-11
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 Joseph Luft and Harry Ingram who had introduced this heuristic exercise to the corporate world. It is a technique designed to help people understand their relationship with self and with other people. From a given set of 56 adjectives, a participant picks five or six which he feels describes best his own personality. Peers also pick five or six from the same list which they think describe best the participant. These adjectives are then mapped into four quadrants identified as the open, blind, hidden and unknown windows.
The open quadrant contains attributes that 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.
When Jesus asked his disciples “What do people say about me?” he was inquiring about his blind quadrant.
“You are the Messiah of God,” answered Peter. This answer was best among the rest but not good enough to capture who Jesus really was. When Peter proclaimed Jesus as Messiah, he had in mind a superman who would destroy their Roman conquerors. Peter’s answer only heightened peoples’ longing for a political liberator. Unfortunately, Jesus was not a political liberator but a spiritual one. Like them he was also subject to Roman oppression.
If Jesus were to confront us with the same question, we’d probably blurt out the same answer as Peter did. But such is irrelevant. What truly matters is our readiness to embrace a suffering messiah. What is crucial is our willingness to suffer what it takes to substantiate such readiness. Are we willing to embrace a suffering Messiah? – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M. Email: [email protected].
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