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| “St. Vincent de Paul” artist and date are unknown |
Reading 1: Haggai 1:15b-2:9
In the second year of King
Darius,
on the twenty-first day of
the seventh month,
the word of the LORD came
through the prophet Haggai:
Tell this to the governor of Judah
Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel,
and to the high priest
Joshua, son of Jehozadak,
and to the remnant of the
people:
Who is left among you
that saw this house in its
former glory?
And how do you see it now?
Does it not seem like nothing
in your eyes?
But now take courage,
Zerubbabel, says the LORD,
and take courage, Joshua,
high priest, son of Jehozadak,
And take courage, all you
people of the land,
says the LORD, and work!
For I am with you, says the
LORD of hosts.
This is the pact that I made
with you
when you came out of Egypt
And my spirit continues in
your midst;
do not fear!
For thus says the LORD of
hosts:
One moment yet, a little
while,
and I will shake the heavens
and the earth,
the sea and the dry land.
I will shake all the nations,
and the treasures of all the
nations will come in,
And I will fill this house
with glory,
says the LORD of hosts.
Mine is the silver and mine
the gold,
says the LORD of hosts.
Greater will be the future
glory of this house
than the former, says the
LORD of hosts;
And in this place I will give
you peace,
says the LORD of hosts!
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Commentary on Haggai 1:15b-2:9
The Prophet Haggai continues his
prophecy regarding the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem with two
additional statements. First, the second building of the temple should be even
grander than that built originally by Solomon. And second, that God is with
them in this great work and will find the means to support it financially.
From the Christian perspective, the
return to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the temple is prophetic of the coming
of Christ into the world, and the building of the temple is symbolic of the
building of his Church. "’The coming of the
Lord into this world was like the building of a great temple, glorious beyond
imagining; this temple is more perfect and beautiful than that of old, as the
worship of Christ according to his Gospel is more perfect than the worship of
God according to the law, as the reality is more beautiful than its image […].
The glory of the new temple, the Church, is much greater than the glory of the
old. Those who give of themselves and work devoutly to build the new temple
will receive Christ himself, as their reward from the Savoir and as a gift
from heaven; he is our peace, the peace of all mankind, the one through whom we
can go to the Father in the one Spirit. He himself said: and in this place I
will give prosperity, says the Lord of hosts’ (St Cyril of Alexandria,
"Commentarius in Aggaeum", 14)." [4]
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 43:1, 2, 3, 4
R. (5) Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and
my God.
Do me justice, O God, and
fight my fight
against a faithless people;
from the deceitful and
impious man rescue me.
R. Hope in God; I will
praise him, my savior and my God.
For you, O God, are my
strength.
Why do you keep me so far away?
Why must I go about in
mourning,
with the enemy oppressing me?
R. Hope in God; I will
praise him, my savior and my God.
Send forth your light and
your fidelity;
they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy
mountain,
to your dwelling place.
R. Hope in God; I will
praise him, my savior and my God.
Then will I go in to the
altar of God,
the God of my gladness and
joy;
Then will I give you thanks
upon the harp,
O God, my God!
R. Hope in God; I will
praise him, my savior and my God.
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Commentary on Ps 43:1, 2, 3, 4
Psalm 43 is an individual
lament. We hear a tone in these strophes
that supports the situation in which the Jews tasked with rebuilding the temple
found themselves (Haggi 2:1-9) –
facing resistance to the great work they were to complete. The hope of God’s support is expressed in the
final strophe.
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Gospel: Luke 9:18-22
Once when Jesus was praying
in solitude,
and the disciples were with
him,
he asked them, “Who do the
crowds say that I am?”
They said in reply, “John the
Baptist; others, Elijah;
still others, ‘One of the
ancient prophets has arisen.’”
Then he said to them, “But
who do you say that I am?”
Peter said in reply, “The
Christ of God.”
He rebuked them and directed
them not to tell this to anyone.
He said, “The Son of Man must
suffer greatly
and be rejected by the
elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the
third day be raised.”
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Commentary on Lk 9:18-22
As is frequently the case in St.
Luke’s Gospel, we find the Lord at prayer. When asked by the Lord about the
attitude of the people, the disciples answer much like the counselors of Herod
did in Luke 9:7-9 with
identities of John the Baptist and Elijah. St. Peter answers for the group when
asked about Jesus’ identity, pronouncing him the Messiah. (see also commentary
on Matthew
16:13-20)
CCC: Lk 9:18-20 2600
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Reflection:
There is a favorite question
asked by teachers of Christology: “At what point in his life did Jesus know he
was the Son of God?” The answer to this
question is, of course, not known.
Theological and scripture scholars can cite dozens of examples to
support positions that say he knew who he was from his earliest moments to
those who say he was not fully aware until his crucifixion.
We pose this question today
because of Jesus’ question to his disciples in the Gospel “Who do the crowds say that I am?” We wonder if
the Lord was curious or whether he wanted to see what the disciples would
say. Perhaps he was asking God in prayer
who he was (“Father, I heard the voice at my baptism – you said "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well
pleased." (Luke 3:22) Am I truly your son?”) As true man, even Jesus must have had doubts
at times. We see them in the Garden when
he also prayed "Father, if you are
willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done."
(Luke 22:42)
While it is good for us to
consider questions like this because it helps us get a more complete image of
the Lord, it is only good so far as it helps us understand who the Lord is in
our own lives. Ultimately we stand in
the place of the disciples. We are there
with St. Peter and the others. We see
the Lord break from his commune with the Father, look at us and ask “Who do you say that I am?” And when we answer as we are expected to –
Jesus, Lord, you are the Only Begotten Son of the Living God. He looks into our hearts to see what that
means to us. He sees if our lives are
patterned on that belief or if we are just saying what we have been taught to
say.
Today we pray that the
question “Who do you say that I am?”
is answered with our actions and words, that others may see what we
believe. We pray that the Lord walks and
talks through us so that others will see and believe as well.
Pax
[1]
The picture is “St. Vincent de Paul” artist and date are unknown.
[2]
S.S Commemoratio
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the
psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is
for private use only.
[4]
The Navarre Bible: “Minor Prophets,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003,
p. 282.
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