Sunday Vigil

Memorial of Saint Wenceslaus (+929), venerated as a martyr in Bohemia. Memorial of William Quijano, young Salvadorian man of the Community of Sant'Egidio, killed in 2009 by the violence of the maras.

Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Luke 9,43-45

and everyone was awestruck by the greatness of God. But while everyone was full of admiration for all he did, he said to his disciples, 'For your part, you must have these words constantly in mind: The Son of man is going to be delivered into the power of men.' But they did not understand what he said; it was hidden from them so that they should not see the meaning of it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The insistence in saying: "Let these words sink into your ears...", seems to be done to force the harshness of the disciples' mind to understand Jesus' true identity. He warns them strongly that they should not be deceived by the admiration all feel for him, for a humiliating and painful death is awaiting him. In the language of the Bible, "to be betrayed into human hands," refers to the painful and cruel fate of someone abandoned by God and left at the mercy of the power and judgment of human beings. And this is exactly what will happen. But despite this clarity, the evangelist underlines, the disciples do not understand. This could be said of us, we who are often distant, like the disciples of that time, from the thoughts and concerns of Jesus and especially distant from the sense he had of his mission. Salvation is not gained through human power or force, but only through love for all, a love that goes as far as to give its own life for its enemies. The evangelist notes that the disciples still could not understand Jesus' words, their "meaning was concealed from them, so that they could not perceive it." They remained in silence, without asking for any further explanation. It is an attitude of harshness and mistrust. They do not accept their ignorance and prefer to stay in the dark. Nonetheless, Jesus does not abandon them. He continues to instruct them, hoping that little by little they will understand the Gospel.