June 22, 2025 Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Welcome Father Eckhard Today’s Readings: Zech 12:10–11; 13:1 | Gal 3:26–29 | Lk 9:18–24

Jesus was a question mark for many people. Was he Elijah, the prophet who had left this earth in a fiery chariot and was expected to return to announce the coming of the Messiah? […] Was Jesus, as King Herod seemed to think, a re-incarnation of John the Baptist? Or was Jesus one of the other prophets? No one seemed to think that he might be a prophet in his own right. (But, then, as Jesus himself commented, people tend not to recognise the prophets in their midst. We might ask: Who are the prophets in our society, in our Church, today?) […]

####Who is Jesus?

Now Jesus asks disciples: “Who do people say I am?” The disciples repeat the various speculations of the crowd. “But who do you say I am?” Peter, speaking for all, “You are the Messiah/Christ/Anointed (King) of God.” Clearly, this is a high point in his disciples’ relationship with Jesus. Unlike the crowds or Herod, they now know who Jesus really is. Jesus’ disciples, commissioned by Jesus to preach and given authority to release from demons and to heal, recognise their Master as the long-awaited Messiah. It must have been a heady and exciting moment for them. They must have been bursting to tell everyone: “Our Master is the Messiah!” […]

####Shocking news

Instead they are shocked and stunned to hear: “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, be rejected by the elders, chief priests and scribes, be killed, and on the third day be raised.” From now on, the disciples must begin to learn that this is the kind of Messiah they are following. Jesus is no popular hero of the hour, no champion of the Jewish cause against foreign domination, no leader of a liberation war.

On the contrary, this Messiah, will be rejected by leaders of his own people, will be tried and executed by the foreign power he is expected to drive out. This was not the expected scenario. There must have been a stunned silence after Jesus spoke until the impetuous Peter blurted out his protest (not recorded here by Luke).

No, victory for Jesus will come through love, loyalty to truth, integrity and non-violence. As the First Reading says: God will pour out “a spirit of compassion and supplication on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” They – and generations afterwards – “will look on the one whom they have pierced”, a sentence quoted by John during his account of the crucifixion.

####More than recognition

But it is not enough to recognise Jesus as the Messiah or to be filled with wonder and compassion at his suffering, death and resurrection. We are called to be followers, disciples. And, as disciples, Jesus today calls on us:

– to deny self

– to take up our cross every day

– to follow Jesus.

Of course, to deny one’s self in one sense is not possible nor is it desirable. We are encouraged to promote our self-esteem and the full acceptance of ourselves. In a way, we cannot do otherwise. But there are good and bad ways of going about that self-affirmation. If we do so at the expense of truth, love and freedom, it can only be at the expense of other people and our environment and is self-defeating. Selfishness, self-centredness are quite distinct from a wholesome self-love, self-appreciation, self-acceptance.

It is to our best advantage to open ourselves totally to those transcendent values which the Gospel presents to us. And to take up our cross every day is not to go out of our way looking for pain and trouble. That would be a very unhealthy way of behaving. It means accepting what comes into our life and positively and constructively seeing God’s love and grace in every experience, even the most painful.

Source of reflection (shortened): Commentaries on the Daily Readings, https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/oc121/ Source of image: Contemporary Jesus, https://pixabay.com/en/jesus-christ-look-down-dewdrop-1250023/

News

• 22 June - After Mass, parish team meeting in preparation of our transition to the new church. Open to all community members wishing to help with these important next steps!