XXIV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – CYCLE B – 2018   

§  Last Sunday the readings were about hearing- listening and speaking-proclaiming the Word we have heard.   

§  Today the Lord wants to know if we really know Him, and He invites us also to imitate him taking our cross, as He took his. Let us remember that in the biblical language the verb to know is related to the verb to love.  

FIRST READING : Is 50:5-9a

      This text is taken from the second part of the book of Isaiah, called Deutero-Isaiah or Second Isaiah. The author is either an Israelite who has come back from exile, or someone who has never left the country. 

      It is the poet who sings the wonders of the return from exile with exodus imaginary, where God repeats again the marvels he had done, who goes before his people in this joyful return so much waited for.  

      In the Second Isaiah, we find four poems that have been called the Servant poems or songs. 

      This servant is considered to be, either Israel-Jacob who represents the people, or another person faithful to God. 

      These texts, referred to an anonymous servant, open a completely new perspective in the Old Testament and in the religious world in general:

o   Suffering is a road to God  

o   It is not only a reality from which we ask God to be freed, as we find in the psalms. 

o   This suffering may be of value, not only for the person who experiences  it  but, also for other persons

o   That is why, the Church has seen in these Servant Songs, the description of the mission of Jesus, the faithful and suffering Servant who gives his life for his people and for the glory of God. 

Let us see the message of this Sunday reading,    

§  The Servant tells us that, God has open his ears, and that, he has not turned back   

o   I gave my back to those who beat me,

o   my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;

o   my face  from buffets and spitting.

·        This Servant tells us of his great trust in the Lord, and He has been able to do all of these because he knows that the Lord is with him, and that He will not abandon him, and thus he will not be deceived in his hope, in his faith. 

§  The confidence in the presence of the Lord is what makes him able to challenge his enemies, what enemies?  

§  We suffer also during our life, each one in his/her own way, with a different sensibility, but are we confident like the Servant  in the love that God has for us?

§  Confidence which will make us able to challenge all the  enemies which are: the suffering we inflict one another, the poor health, the broken relationships, the lack of work, the chattered dreams, the failures, the abandonments…  

§  Yes, indeed the Lord, the God of Israel is with us through his Son Jesus, the God-with-us.   

RESPONSORIAL PSALM  Ps 116: 1-2. 3-4. 5-6. 8-9

I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
 I love the LORD because he has heard
my voice in supplication,
because he has inclined his ear to me
the day I called.
I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
 The cords of death encompassed me;
the snares of the netherworld seized upon me;
I fell into distress and sorrow,
and I called upon the name of the LORD,
"O LORD, save my life!"
I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
.Gracious is the LORD and just;
yes, our God is merciful.
The LORD keeps the little ones;
I was brought low, and he saved me.
I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
 For he has freed my soul from death,
my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
I shall walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.

I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.

v  The care the Lord has for me is what makes me love Him   

v  When I am in anguish, in danger, I invoke Him and He saves me.  

v  The Lord is gracious, just, compassionate and He protects the little ones.  

v  The Lord has freed me from death, mi feet from stumbling, my eyes from tears.   

v  For this,  I continue to walk in the presence of the Lord, because He is my God and He helps me.  

GOSPEL   Mc 8: 27-35

·        In our reading from the Gospel of Mark, we have reached the end of the first part, and Jesus challenges us with a question.   

·        Let us imagine the scene, Jesus is with his own, those who live with Him, his closest friends, those He has chosen to be sent. At the same time through the context, we realize that there are also other followers, other disciples and even some curious by-standers. 

·        Jesus asks an estrange question which, probably surprised those men who knew Him to be humble, simple, not worried about himself. Who do people say that I am? Why do you want to know that Jesus?  

·        The apostles, like we do when we are taking a class and the teacher asks a question about something we do not know, gave some superficial answers to make believe that they knew what people felt about Jesus.   

·        But Jesus has a surprise for those simple men, and also for us the followers of the XXI century in 2018. And you who do you say?   

·        Now we are in real trouble, because Jesus does not want any response, he does not want an answer from what the Catechism says, or the priest that gave a retreat said or a theologian has said. No, he is not interested in those answers; he wants to know who is he for you?   

·        If we are sincere, we will say that this is the hardest question to answer, and that we need our entire life to get closer to the truth.   

·        Who am I for you: John, Peter, George, Louis, Angel, Sonia, Olga, Sandy, Nancy, Guadalupe….? Do I mean anything for you? Do I make you as happy as you make me happy? 

Think and meditate, y you will see how the answer takes shape little by little through the  years.  

·        After that, Jesus, you explain  to them and to the crowd what does it mean to be the Suffering Servant, and you invite me to be like that Servant,   to collaborate with you in the transformation of our world into your Kingdom “take your cross and follow me.” The accent is not in taking the cross but in “follow me” because the cross without you has no meaning at all.    

SECOND READING – Jas  2: 14-18

      It would seem that James is discussing with someone about faith and works.   

      For James faith can be seen only through works, born from love: to clothe the naked, feed the hungry…  

      James makes us reflect on the truth of our faith,   an invitation to live in truth our life of followers of the Suffering Servant, Jesus, our Teacher.    

      Let us allow this reflection of James challenge our  our faith and our works.   

CLARETIAN CORNER   -

From the Writings of the Founder and Foundress of the Religiuous of Mary Immaculate Claretian Missionary Sisters.    

We imagine how happy must Your Excellency be to have been wounded to teach the holy law of our Lord Jesus Christ. I and all these your daughters we want to participate of the great reward that the Lord will give to Your Excellency for this in the eternal life, because Your Excellency might remember that in one of your sermons you said that we will partake of the spoils:  May we have the happy fortune, to seal our life shedding all our blood in confirmation of the holy law of the Lord!  Undoubtedly, our Most Holy Mother wanted to give to Your Excellency this award, on the vigil of her feast, and to her we owe the happy recovery of Your Excellency for what we give thanks to the Lord, wishing to have as soon as possible the pleasure to receive the paternal blessing of Your Excellency;  already from now  I ask it from you for all, receive the most respectful regards of all your religious sisters and count on  this your subject and daughter in Jesus Christ who loves you in Jesus and  Mary as she kisses  the hand of our Excellency.   Venerable María Antonia París, Foundress. Letter to St. Anthony Mary Claret, February 28  1856. 

The persecution has been terrible: in Holguin, in the street, I was wounded without being stopped by the light, or the presence of four priests and two safeguards that accompanied me and of all the authorities of the town who surrounded me…  After I left Holguin the persecution has continued. The enemies believed that we were going to sleep in a country house and instead we stayed in another, which is an hour before, and at twelve thirty at night they burned the house where they thought I was, being that house completely destroyed by the fire while we were saved in the other. What a providence!  We continued our trip and arrived to a farm called   Fraiguan, and we had to watch during the night, because we saw signs that the scene would be reproduced, and to avoid so many dangers and, not to be the cause that the houses of those who have the charity to lodge us, we rush to return to Cuba where we are now. If it continues like this I do not know what  will happened. Saint Anthony Mary Claret, Founder, letter to Currius March 15  1856.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CLARET, St. Anthony Mary . Letter to Currius in the History of the RR. of Mary Immaculate Claretian Missionary Sisters  by  Jesús Alvrez Gómez, cmf. 1980

PARIS, Venerable María Antonia. Letter to Claret in the History of the RR. of Mary Immaculate Claretian Missionary Sisters by Jesús Alvrez Gómez, cmf. 1980  

SAGRADA BIBLIA. Versión oficial de la Conferencia de Obispos de España. 2010