DAILY- HOMILY

September 3, 2017 - 22nd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Green

Jer 20: 7- 9 / Rom 12: 1 - 2 / Mt 16: 21 - 27

FROM THE FIRST READING:          Jer 20: 8b- 9

     Yahweh's word has brought me insult and derision all day long. So I decided to forget about him and speak no more in his name. But his word in my heart becomes like a fire burning deep within my bones. I try so hard to hold it in, but I cannot do it.

2nd READING:   Rom 12: 1 - 2

     I beg of you, dearly beloved, by the mercy of God, to give yourselves as a living and holy sacrifice pleasing to God: such is the worship of a rational being. Don't let yourselves be shaped by the world where you live, but rather be transformed through the renewal of your mind. You must discern what is good, what pleases, what is perfect.

GOSPEL READING:           Mt 16: 21 - 27

     From that day Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem; he would suffer many things from the Jewish authorities, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. He would be killed and be raised on the third day.

     Then Peter took him aside and began to reproach him, "Never, Lord! No, this must never happen to you." But Jesus turned to him and said, "Get behind me, Satan! You would have me stumble. You are thinking not as God does, but as people do."

     Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If you want to follow me, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me. For whoever chooses to save his life will lose it, but the one who loses his life for my sake will find it. What will one gain by winning the whole world if he destroys himself? There is nothing you can give to recover your own self.

     "Know that the Son of Man will come in the Glory of his Father with the holy angels, and he will reward each one according to his deeds."

REFLECTION

     At one point in our lives, we all have someone whom we look up to idolize – a movie star, a performer, an athlete, among others. We are happy when our idol is happy and sad when he/she is not doing well. Fans mourn the death of their idols, even when so far away.

     In our Gospel reading today Peter strongly objects to the upcoming suffering of Jesus at the hand of Jewish leaders. We cannot blame Peter for his strong reaction, indeed aversion, to even just the thought of such suffering of the Lord he loved and respected. Peter did not really understand or appreciate the Father's plan for Jesus as the Messiah. Many awaited a conquering Messiah to restore a powerful Israel. Peter could not understand a "suffering Messiah," who would conquer not with power and violence but with suffering and death. In God's plan, Jesus triumphs over sin and death through his own suffering and death.

     Jesus strongly rebuked Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You would have me stumble. You are thinking not as God does, but as people do." God moves where he wills and not as people expect.

     Jesus then detailed what discipleship was all about, "If you want to follow me, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me." To be a disciple is to be like the Master, to be devoted and passionately committed to the person of the Master and to his example. To follow Christ is to pattern our lives after him.

     We are all invited and challenged to make Jesus' pattern of suffering, death and resurrection, our own. The invitation rejects a life of ease and comfort. The invitation is to follow a "suffering Messiah."

     To be a disciple of Christ has its costs and its rewards, "Whoever chooses to save his life will lose it, but the one who loses his life for my sake will find it. What will one gain by winning the whole world if he destroys himself? There is nothing you can give to recover your own self." Do I believe this?

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY 

     BERNADETTE C. DE JESUS

     FR. RITCHE B. ELOT SJ

IN MEMORIAM (†) 

     ANDRES SON KENG PO

     ELISEO YOUNG

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most. 

Have a good day!

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   |  The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the

   |  priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish

   |  distributed free and for personal use only.