Memory of Jesus crucified

Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

This is the Gospel of the poor,
liberation for the imprisoned,
sight for the blind,
freedom for the oppressed.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Luke 9,18-22

Now it happened that he was praying alone, and his disciples came to him and he put this question to them, 'Who do the crowds say I am?' And they answered, 'Some say John the Baptist; others Elijah; others again one of the ancient prophets come back to life.' 'But you,' he said to them, 'who do you say I am?' It was Peter who spoke up. 'The Christ of God,' he said. But he gave them strict orders and charged them not to say this to anyone. He said, 'The Son of man is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day.'

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The Son of Man came to serve,
whoever wants to be great
should become servant of all.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Jesus asks the disciples what people think of him. The disciples, like in a dialogue of prayer, refer to Jesus the rumours that had also reached Herod. But Jesus wanted to hear what they, who had been with him for a while, thought of him. Jesus felt that group like it was his family, like those who were concretely fulfilling his teaching. For this reason, he wanted to know their hearts and what they really thought of him. On behalf of all of them Peter responds, "The Messiah of God." It is a solemn profession. And it is even clearer than the one described in Mark's parallel passage given that "of God" is added to the word "Messiah." Truly Peter is the first, the one who professes the true faith on behalf of all of them. He stands before us so that we all can respond with the same words to the question which Jesus continues to put even to us: "But who do you say that I am?" It is Jesus himself who asks our mind and heart to understand and love him as our Saviour, as the one who frees us from sin and death. Jesus does not press the disciples to keep secret who he is because he wants to hide. Rather, he does not want is mission to be mistaken by putting worldly and false tracks on it. The difficulty of understanding his mission in depth emerges immediately when he adds what future awaits him in Jerusalem. Jesus' message is clear: to reach the resurrection one needs to pass through the cross. It is the mystery of Jesus' life, of the Church and of disciples of every age. The victory of good over evil passes always through the way of the cross.