For We Must Die to Ourselves in Loving You!

by Edmond Lo 2015-09-13

Edmond Lo 2015-09-13

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Isaiah 50:5 - 9A
The Lord GOD opens my ear that I may hear; and I have not rebelled, have not turned back. I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting. The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint,knowing that I shall not be put to shame. He is near who upholds my right; if anyone wishes to oppose me, let us appear together.Who disputes my right? Let that man confront me. See, the Lord GOD is my help; who will prove me wrong?

James 2:14 - 18
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well, ” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. Indeed someone might say, “You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.

Mark 8:27 - 35
Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.” And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said to him in reply, “You are the Christ.” Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him. He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.”

When WWII was still in a dead heat between the Allies and the Axis, and Nazi persecution of the Jews was running rampant in the European continent; Emilio Zolli, the Chief Rabbi of Rome, was sheltered in the Vatican by Blessed Pope Pius XII. During that hiatus, the Chief Rabbi learned much about the Catholic faith from the Pope. But what really convinced him to finally accept Jesus as the Messiah anticipated by all the prophets and laws of the Old Testament were the “Servant-of-the-Lord” oracles in the book of Isaiah, including the first reading of this Sunday which is the third of the four oracles. He found the oracles’ amazingly accurate, vivid, and detailed descriptions of Jesus’ Passions absolutely convincing and irrefutable. So what did he do? After the war, he converted to become a Catholic and took the Pope’s first name, Eugenio, as his baptismal name out of gratitude to the Pope!

Such is the power of the Scripture. The Gospel reading of this Sunday taps on this power by drawing our attention to the suffering, death, and resurrection awaiting Jesus, the Servant of the Lord who must do the will of the Father and die for us, as Isaiah and other prophets have predicted.

Noticeable, if not shocking, are these words of Jesus that form the conclusion of the Caesarea Philippi discourse: “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it” (Mk 8:35). The words mark a new phase of the gospel – Jesus’ coming suffering and death – and reaffirm Isaiah’s Servant-of-the Lord oracles, the way Jesus’ every word and action reaffirm everything that the Scripture has said about him….

Edmond Lo

As a Catholic speaker, writer and RCIA Catechist, Edmond is very active in promoting and defending the Catholic faith. He has a MBA, a CPA-CMA, and a MTS (Master of Theological Studies) from U.T., St. Augustine's Seminary. Having worked many years as the CFO of a non-profit organization, he retired at 55 to follow his special vocation of evangelization. The activities he conducts include the CMCC Bible Study Program, the Catechism Revisited Program, the FLL Spiritual Formation Program, Living in the Holy Tradition, RCIA, family groups and retreats, etc. Edmond is a member of the FLL Core Team. He writes Sunday Mass reflections regularly for the weekly FLL NewSpiration. His personal blog: http://elodocuments.blogspot.com/

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For We Must Die to Ourselves in Loving You!

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