12th Sunday of the Year, Cycle C—2016

FIRST READING            Zechariah 12:10-11; 13:1

Thus says the Lord:  I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and petition; and they shall look on him whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they shall grieve over him as one grieves over a firstborn.  On that day the mourning in Jerusalem shall be as great as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain ofMegiddo.  On that day there shall be open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, a fountain to purify from sin and uncleanness.

SECOND READING                  Galatians 3:26-29

Brothers and sisters:  Through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus.  For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendant, heirs according to the promise.

GOSPEL                Luke 9:18-24

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.”  Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”

My sisters and brothers in the Lord,

Let us lose our lives for the sake of Jesus Christ!  This is the only way to live forever and yet we often avoid it because it will involve suffering on our part.  Most of us don’t like suffering and so in avoiding suffering we often avoid growth in Christ Jesus.

The first reading today is from the Prophet Zechariah.  This reading seems to speak so directly to the sufferings of Jesus that it takes tremendous effort to remind ourselves that it is a prophecy made some centuries before the time of Jesus.  It is by looking deeply enough into the humanity of others and at the human condition that we come to recognize that the author of this reading was able to recognize a role for suffering in saving the lives of others.  This author was able to see that the unmerited sufferings of a good man are a form of salvation for others.  When Jesus comes and fulfills this prophecy, we are able to see this meaning ina new way and recognize infinite sufferings merits infinite salvation.

The second reading today is from the Letter to the Galatians. Is a challenge to belong completely to Christ Jesus.  If we have put on Christ, then we become heirs to the promise.  And what promise?  The promise of God’s unconditional love and God’s abiding presence with us.

The Gospel of Luke today returns to suffering once more.  The Son of Man had to die and we also must die.  This is a strong invitation to accept and even embrace suffering for the Kingdom of God.  The followers of Jesus did not want Him to suffer and Jesus Himself would have gone without suffering—according to his prayer in Gethsemani—except that the Father asked Jesus to undergo suffering for our sake.  We do not and cannot completely understand that mystery We do not and often cannot understand why we ourselves must suffer for the Kingdom.

We must be honest:  most of us do not want to suffer.  Yet, equally we accept that we must suffer when we love others.  The only way to truly love others is to be willing to suffer for them.  Thus we are invited by Jesus to take up our cross now and follow Him.  Jesus even tells His own followers that He will be killed.  We can also assure one another that if we truly follow Jesus we will suffer and may even die.  If our life has no suffering, then something is wrong.

My sisters and brothers, we come together seeking to follow Jesus more faithfully.  Let us encourage one another to take up the cross today.  If we died with Him we shall live with Him.  To Him be glory and honor forever.  Amen.

Your brother in the Lord,

Abbot Philip