"Suno sa inyo, sin-o bala si Jesus?"

Ebanghelyo subong nga Adlaw (Lucas 9:18-22)

Biyernes (Setyembre 27)

Sang isa ka adlaw sang nagapangamuyo si Jesus nga isahanon lang, ang iya mga gintuton-an nagpalapit sa iya. Si Jesus nagpamangkot sa ila, “Sin-o bala ako suno sa mga tawo?”

Nagsabat sila, “May mga tawo nga nagasiling nga si Juan Bautista ikaw. Ang iban nagasiling nga si Elias ikaw, kag ang iban pa gid nagasiling nga isa ikaw sang mga propeta sang una nga nabanhaw.”

Ginpamangkot niya sila, “Pero suno sa inyo, sin-o bala ako?” Si Pedro nagsabat, “Ikaw ang Cristo sang Dios.”

Dayon ginmanduan sila ni Jesus nga indi magpanugid sini sa bisan kay sin-o.

Kag nagsiling pa gid sia, “Kinahanglan mag-antos gid ang Anak sang Tawo kag pagasikwayon sang mga katigulangan sang mga Judio, sang pangulo nga mga pari, kag sang mga manunodlo sang Kasugoan. Pagapatyon sia kag pagabanhawon sa ikatlo nga adlaw.”

Prayers:

"Lord Jesus, I believe and I profess that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Take my life, my will, and all that I have, that I may be wholly yours now and forever."

***

Reflection of the Daily Gospel:

Who is Jesus for you – and what difference does he make in your life? Many in Israel recognized Jesus as a mighty man of God, even comparing him with the greatest of the prophets. Peter, always quick to respond whenever Jesus spoke, professed that Jesus was truly the "Christ of God". No mortal being could have revealed this to Peter, but only God. Through the "eyes of faith" Peter discovered who Jesus truly was. Peter recognized that Jesus was much more than a great teacher, prophet, and miracle worker. Peter was the first apostle to publicly declare that Jesus was the Anointed One consecrated by the Father and sent into the world to redeem a fallen human race enslaved to sin and cut off from eternal life with God (Luke 9:20, Acts 2:14-36). The word for "Christ" in Greek is a translation of the Hebrew word for "Messiah" – both words literally mean the Anointed One.

Why did Jesus command his disciples to be silent about his identity as the anointed Son of God? They were, afterall, appointed to proclaim the good news to everyone. Jesus knew that they did not yet fully understand his mission and how he would accomplish it. Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD), an early chuch father, explains the reason for this silence: 

There were things yet unfulfilled which must also be included in their preaching about him. They must also proclaim the cross, the passion, and the death in the flesh. They must preach the resurrection of the dead, that great and truly glorious sign by which testimony is borne him that the Emmanuel is truly God and by nature the Son of God the Father. He utterly abolished death and wiped out destruction. He robbed hell, and overthrew the tyranny of the enemy. He took away the sin of the world, opened the gates above to the dwellers upon earth, and united earth to heaven. These things proved him to be, as I said, in truth God. He commanded them, therefore, to guard the mystery by a seasonable silence until the whole plan of the dispensation should arrive at a suitable conclusion. (Commentary on Luke, Homily 49)

Jesus told his disciples that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and die in order that God's work of redemption might be accomplished. How startled the disciples were when they heard this word. How different are God's thoughts and ways from our thoughts and ways (Isaiah 55:8). Through humiliation, suffering, and death on the cross Jesus broke the powers of sin and death and won for us eternal life and freedom from the slavery of sin and from the oppression of our enemy, Satan, the father of lies and the deceiver of humankind.

If we want to share in the victory of the Lord Jesus, then we must also take up our cross and follow where he leads us. What is the "cross" that you and I must take up each day? When my will crosses with God's will, then his will must be done. To know Jesus Christ is to know the power of his victory on the cross where he defeated sin and conquered death through his resurrection. The Holy Spirit gives each of us the gifts and strenth we need to live as sons and daughters of God. The Holy Spirit gives us faith to know the Lord Jesus personally as our Redeemer, and the power to live the gospel faithfully, and the courage to witness to others the joy, truth, and freedom of the gospel. Who do you say that Jesus is?