Friday, September 25, 2009

Friday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time


Friday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Readings for Friday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

Readings and Commentary:
[3]

Reading 1:
Haggi 2:1-9

In the second year of King Darius,
on the twenty-first day of the seventh month,
the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai:
Tell this to the governor of Judah,
Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel,
and to the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak,
and to the remnant of the people:

Who is left among you
that saw this house in its former glory?
And how do you see it now?
Does it not seem like nothing in your eyes?
But now take courage, Zerubbabel, says the LORD,
and take courage, Joshua, high priest, son of Jehozadak,
And take courage, all you people of the land,
says the LORD, and work!
For I am with you, says the LORD of hosts.
This is the pact that I made with you
when you came out of Egypt,
And my spirit continues in your midst;
do not fear!
For thus says the LORD of hosts:
One moment yet, a little while,
and I will shake the heavens and the earth,
the sea and the dry land.
I will shake all the nations,
and the treasures of all the nations will come in,
And I will fill this house with glory,
says the LORD of hosts.
Mine is the silver and mine the gold,
says the LORD of hosts.
Greater will be the future glory of this house
than the former, says the LORD of hosts;
And in this place I will give you peace,
says the LORD of hosts!
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Commentary on
Hg 2:1-9

The Prophet Haggai continues his prophecy regarding the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem with two additional statements. First, the second building of the Temple should be even grander than that built originally by Solomon. And second, that God is with them in this great work and will find the means to support it financially.

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Responsorial Psalm:
Psalm 43:1, 2, 3, 4

R. (5) Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.

Do me justice, O God, and fight my fight
against a faithless people;
from the deceitful and impious man rescue me.
R. Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.

For you, O God, are my strength.
Why do you keep me so far away?
Why must I go about in mourning,
with the enemy oppressing me?
R. Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.

Send forth your light and your fidelity;
they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling place.
R. Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.

Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,
O God, my God!
R. Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.
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Commentary on
Ps 43:1, 2, 3, 4

Psalm 43 is an individual lament. We hear a tone in these strophes that supports the situation in which the Jews of Haggai’s time found themselves – facing resistance to the great work they were to complete. The hope of God’s support is expressed in the final strophe.

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Gospel:
Luke 9:18-22

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 Christ 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.”
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Commentary on
Lk 9:18-22

As is frequently the case in St. Luke’s Gospel, we find the Lord at prayer. When asked by the Lord about the attitude of the people, the disciples answer much like the councilors of Herod did previously (
Luke 9:7-9) with identities of John the Baptist and Elijah. St. Peter answers for the group when asked about Jesus’ identity pronouncing him the Messiah.

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Reflection:

There is a favorite question asked by teachers of Christology: “At what point in his life did Jesus know he was the Son of God?” The answer to this question is, of course, not known. Theological and scripture scholars can site dozens of examples to support positions that say he knew who he was from his earliest moments to those who say he was not fully aware until his crucifixion.

We pose this question today because of Jesus question to his disciples in the Gospel “Who do the crowds say that I am?” We wonder if the Lord was curious or whether he wanted to see what the disciples would say. Perhaps he was asking God in prayer who he was (“Father, I heard the voice at my baptism – you said "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." (
Luke 3:22) Am I truly your son?”) As true man, even Jesus must have had doubts at times. We see them in the Garden when he also prayed "Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done." (Luke 22:42)

While it is good for us to consider questions like this because it helps us get a more complete image of the Lord, it is only good so far as it helps us understand who the Lord is in our own lives. Ultimately we stand in the place of the disciples. We are there with St. Peter and the others. We see the Lord break from his commune with the Father, look at us and ask “Who do you say that I am?” And when we answer as we are expected to – Jesus, Lord, you are the Only Begotten Son of the Living God. He looks into our hearts to see what that means to us. He sees if our lives are patterned on that belief or if we are just saying what we have been taught to say.

Today we pray that the question “Who do you say that I am?” is answered with our actions and words that others may see what we believe. We pray that the Lord walks and talks through us so that others will see and believe as well.

Pax

[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture is “Christ Praying in the Garden” (detail) by Marco Basaiti, 1510 or 1516
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.

2 comments:

luzvimindarp said...

Good day but correct me if i am wrong, i think Jesus know deep in His heart that He is the son of God even at an early age. As I encountered in the Bible when the Boy Jesus was in the Temple... when He said to his parents...Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"
And when he grew up and started His mission, that was the only time that He has to exposed Himself to his disciples. God bless.

Deacon Jim said...

The point is well made. What has been proposed by those who believe he could not have been completely sure until the resurrection is; if Jesus knew he was God before that time, could he have suffered as a man? Again, both assumptions are speculation since we will never know unless, when we meet him (God willing) face to face we choose to ask.

Pax,

Dcn. Jim