Bishop Barron's Gospel Reflection September 28, 2019

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Luke 9:43B-45

Friends, in today’s Gospel Jesus predicts his being handed over to men—that is, his crucifixion. Here is the point I want to make: we are meant to see on that cross our own ugliness. What brings Jesus to the cross? Stupidity, anger, mistrust, institutional injustice, betrayal, denial, unspeakable cruelty, fear. St. Peter puts it with disquieting laconicism: the Author of life came and you killed him. In the light of the cross, all of the vermin are revealed. This is why we speak of the cross as God’s judgment on the world. So far, so awful. But we can’t stop telling the story at this point. Dante and every other spiritual master know that the only way up is down. When we live unaware of our sins, we will never make spiritual progress. So we need the light, however painful it is. Then we can begin to rise. Once Dante makes it all the way to the center of hell, he suddenly finds himself climbing out. On the cross of Jesus, we meet our own sin. But we also meet the divine mercy, which has taken that sin upon himself in order to swallow it up. Saturday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 454 Reading 1 Zec 2:5-9, 14-15a I, Zechariah, raised my eyes and looked: there was a man with a measuring line in his hand. I asked, "Where are you going?" He answered, "To measure Jerusalem, to see how great is its width and how great its length." Then the angel who spoke with me advanced, and another angel came out to meet him and said to him, "Run, tell this to that young man: People will live in Jerusalem as though in open country, because of the multitude of men and beasts in her midst. But I will be for her an encircling wall of fire, says the LORD, and I will be the glory in her midst." Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD. Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day, and they shall be his people and he will dwell among you. Gospel Lk 9:43b-45 While they were all amazed at his every deed, Jesus said to his disciples, "Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men." But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.