Saturday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Luke 9:43b-45
While they were all amazed at his every deed, Jesus said to his disciples, "Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men." But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
Introductory Prayer: Lord, you are the author of life and the giver of all that is good. You are the Prince of Peace and my mainstay. You are my healer and the cure itself. I need you, and I need to give you. I love you and commit myself to you entirely, knowing you could never let me down or deceive me. Thank you for giving me your very self.
Petition: Lord Jesus, strengthen my weak faith and guide me along your paths.
- The Danger of Triumphalism: Throughout his entire ministry, Jesus understood that his disciples ran the risk of triumphalism, that is, thinking that they would always win, come out on top, and go from one success to the next. That is why, precisely when “all were amazed at his every deed”, Jesus feels the urgency to remind them of his own coming Passion and death. We too can sometimes expect all things to work out well, especially if we have made the decision to follow the Lord and trust fully in his power. The truth, however, is that we too will encounter “being handed over to men” just as the Lord did. The immense difference in following Christ is that we do not experience these “defeats” alone. Our Lord, our Creator, Love himself, is there to walk with us and show us the way forward.
- They Did Not Understand: The Gospels make absolutely no attempt to cover up the stubbornness, incredulity and slowness of heart of Jesus’ disciples. This might at first surprise or even scandalize us – after all, what chance have we of understanding Christ if the very people who saw him and walked with him did not understand? However, we know that these very disciples became the foundation of the Church and began the process of converting the Roman empire with the radical authenticity of their lives and their preaching. When we find ourselves “not understanding” what the Lord does and permits in our lives, we are in fact in good company. We can pray for the power of the Resurrection and the Holy Spirit to open our minds and set our hearts on fire.
- Afraid to Ask: The disciples in today’s Gospel passage were afraid to question Jesus. Maybe they feared looking dumb or thought that everyone else had understood except for themselves. Maybe they thought that Jesus had called them to be his disciples on the assumption that they would always understand his teachings. Whatever the case might be, we are left with the impression that they really missed out on something important simply because “they were afraid to ask”. The same evangelist – St. Luke – who writes this passage told us earlier of another disciple who was NOT afraid to ask. She received an important message hand-delivered by an Angel, but was not too insecure to ask “and how is this supposed to happen?” Our Lord does NOT want us to keep our questions to ourselves. May we imitate Our Lady’s bold and humble curiosity in our journey to a greater intimacy with the Lord.
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, you work mysteriously in my life and I don’t always understand. Help me to be comfortable in turning to you and asking for a greater faith, a greater hope, and a greater love, that will help open my mind and my heart to understand your message and to see your work more clearly in my own life.
Resolution: In my prayer today I will beg, in all humility, for the gift of faith in Jesus Christ.
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