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

Peter's profession of faith marks a turning point in the Gospel narratives: it prepares the beginning of Jesus' journey to Jerusalem. Luke does not specify the place where the scene takes place (Mark and Matthew put it in Caesarea of Philip) but rather he inserts it into a horizon of prayer, a scene which is repeated frequently in the third Gospel. The evangelist seems to want to describe the moment in which the Christian community gathers for common prayer: it is an indispensable time to live the personal encounter with Jesus. On that occasion Jesus asks the disciples what people think 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 what they thought of Him. Obviously, it was not a matter of superficial knowledge, but of the knowledge that comes from faith. On behalf of all of them Peter responds, "The Messiah of God." It is a solemn profession. 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 not an abstract question, as if we were in front of a catechism. 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. The secret about his person that Jesus imposes on his disciples is not to hide himself, rather, he does not want his mission to be misunderstood. For this reason, it is good that the knowing is gradual. The difficulty of understanding his mission in depth emerges immediately when he adds what future awaits him in Jerusalem. We know from the parallel passages in the Synoptics that Peter reacts negatively to Jesus' affirmations. 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.