VIGÉSIMO CUARTO DOMINGO DEL TIEMPO ORDINARIO 2024

Queridos hermanos y hermanas, este domingo el Evangelio que acabamos de leer nos invita a preguntarnos: ¿Cómo vivimos nuestra fe? ¿Hay coherencia entre lo que profesamos y lo que vivimos, o hay un abismo entre nuestra fe y nuestra vida diaria? Permítanme plantearles algunas preguntas más: ¿Le has dado alguna vez un consejo a un amigo tuyo? ¿Qué esperas cuando das un consejo a alguien? ¿Qué opinas del consejo que Pedro le dio a Jesús? ¿Crees que fue correcto o incorrecto? ¿Fue bueno o malo?

En el Evangelio que leemos hoy hay cuatro momentos importantes:

1. La pregunta por la identidad de Jesús, qué dice la gente de él y qué dicen sus discípulos sobre él.

2. La respuesta de Pedro a Jesús y la clarificación que Jesús hace sobre su mesianismo.

3. El regaño a Pedro por pensar como ser humano y no como Dios.

4. Las tres condiciones para el seguimiento de Jesús.

Mis queridos hermanos y hermanas, es importante para nosotros como cristianos saber quién es Jesucristo y cómo estamos viviendo nuestra fe de acuerdo con Él, que es nuestro Pastor y Guía. De lo contrario, podemos estar viviendo una situación similar a la de Pedro, que confesó a Jesús como el Mesías, de acuerdo a sus propias ideas pero no en conformidad con el plan divino del Padre para Jesús. Justo después de hablar con Jesús, Pedro se dio cuenta de que tenía una idea equivocada sobre él. Esto es muy importante queridos hermanos y hermanas, porque la mayoría de las veces tenemos nuestras propias ideas sobre quién es Dios y a veces esas ideas no se corresponden con la imagen de Dios que Jesús nos ha revelado, por eso es muy importante dejarnos guiar por Jesús y escuchar su voz para que nuestro seguimiento sea conforme a su voluntad y no conforme a nuestros gustos e ideas personales.

Jesús reprendió a Pedro no sólo por su idea errónea sobre el Mesías sino que también por atreverse a darle sugerencias sobre cómo debía realizar su misión. Digamos que Pedro actuó de buena voluntad según los deseos y criterios humanos, pero no según el plan de Dios.

Queridos hermanos y hermanas, necesitamos aprender de esta situación porque a veces podemos estar en lo correcto al profesar nuestra fe, pero podemos estar equivocados en la forma en que la vivimos. Es decir que profesamos una cosa y vivimos de otra manera totalmente diferente, de ahí que necesitemos alinear nuestros conceptos con Jesucristo para librarnos de esa incoherencia de vida.

En este evangelio Jesús deja claro que hay tres condiciones necesarias para poder seguirle: negarse a sí mismo, tomar la cruz y luego seguirle.

Hermanos y hermanas, es importante recordar que Dios no nos pide imposibles y que El siempre quiere lo mejor para nosotros, aunque a veces eso implique renunciar a ideas, personas o cosas que creemos importantes para nuestras vidas pero insignificantes desde la perspectiva de Jesús. Puedes tener la certeza de que Jesús quiere guiarte personalmente, y que está dispuesto a ayudarte a cargar tu cruz para que puedas seguirlo de manera coherente. Él no te va a forzar a su seguimiento sólo quiere que tú le entregues voluntariamente tu vida y confíes en él. Finalmente pidámosle a Jesús que nos ayude a estar siempre dispuestos a escucharlo y a dejarnos corregir por él. Amen.

Rev. Luis Segura M.S.C.—Pastor

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TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 2024

Dear brothers and sisters, this Sunday the Gospel we have just read invites us to ask ourselves: How do we live our faith? Is there coherence between what we profess and what we live, or is there a gap between our faith and our daily life? Allow me to ask you a few more questions: Have you ever given advice to a friend of yours? What do you expect when you give advice to someone? What do you think of the advice Peter gave Jesus? Do you think it was right or wrong? Was it good or bad?

In the Gospel we read today there are four important moments:

1. The question about Jesus' identity, what people say about him and what his disciples say about him.

2. Peter's response to Jesus and the clarification Jesus makes about his messianism.

3. The rebuke to Peter for thinking like a human being and not like God.

4. The three conditions for following Jesus.

My dear brothers and sisters, it is important for us as Christians to know who Jesus Christ is and how we are living our faith in accordance with Him, who is our Shepherd and Guide. Otherwise, we may be living a situation similar to that of Peter, who confessed Jesus as the Messiah, according to his own ideas but not in conformity with the Father's divine plan for Jesus. Right after speaking with Jesus, Peter realized that he had a wrong idea about him. This is very important, dear brothers and sisters, because most of the time we have our own ideas about who God is and sometimes those ideas do not correspond to the image of God that Jesus has revealed to us. That is why it is very important to let ourselves be guided by Jesus and listen to his voice so that our following is in accordance with his will and not according to our personal tastes and ideas.

Jesus rebuked Peter not only for his wrong idea about the Messiah but also for daring to give him suggestions on how he should carry out his mission. Let's say that Peter acted willingly according to human desires and criteria, but not according to God's plan.

Dear brothers and sisters, we need to learn from this situation because sometimes we can be right in professing our faith, but we can be wrong in the way we live it. That is, we profess one thing and live in a totally different way, hence we need to align our concepts with Jesus Christ to free ourselves from this incoherent life.

In this gospel Jesus makes it clear that there are three necessary conditions to be able to follow him: deny yourself, take up the cross and then follow him.

Brothers and sisters, it is important to remember that God does not ask the impossible of us and that He always wants the best for us, even if sometimes that means giving up ideas, people or things that we believe are important for our lives but insignificant from Jesus' perspective. You can be sure that Jesus wants to guide you personally, and that he is willing to help you carry your cross so that you can follow him in a coherent way. He is not going to force you to follow him. He only wants you to voluntarily give your life to him and trust in him. Finally, let us ask Jesus to help us to always be ready to listen to him and to allow ourselves to be corrected by him. Amen.

Rev. Luis Segura M.S.C.—Pastor

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Who am I for You?...

Today’s Gospel passage turns to the question that permeates the whole Gospel of Mark: who is Jesus? But this time Jesus himself poses it to his disciples, helping them to gradually address the question of his identity. Before asking them, the Twelve, directly, Jesus wants to hear from them what the people think about him, and he is well aware that the disciples are very sensitive to the Teacher’s renown! Therefore, he asks: “Who do men say that I am?”. It comes to light that Jesus is considered by the people as a great prophet. But, in reality, he is not interested in the opinions and gossip of the people. He also does not agree that his disciples should answer the questions with pre-packaged formulas, quoting well-known individuals from Sacred Scripture, because a faith that is reduced to formulas is a short-sighted faith.

The Lord wants his disciples of yesterday and today to establish a personal relationship with him, and thus to embrace him at the center of their life. For this reason, he spurs them to face themselves honestly, and he asks: “But who do you say that I am?” Today, Jesus addresses this very direct and confidential question to each of us: “You, who do you say that I am? All of you, who do you say that I am? Who am I for you?”. Each person is called to respond, in his or her heart, allowing each one to be illuminated by the light that the Father gives us in order to know his Son Jesus. And it can also happen to us, as it did to Peter, that we passionately affirm: “You are the Christ”. However, when Jesus tells us clearly what he told the disciples, that is, that his mission is fulfilled not on the wide road to success, but on the arduous path of the suffering, humiliated, rejected and crucified Servant, then it can also happen that we, like Peter, might protest and rebel because this contrasts with our expectations, with worldly expectations. In those moments, we too deserve Jesus’ healthy rebuke: “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God, but of men” (v. 33).

Brothers and sisters, the profession of faith in Jesus Christ cannot stop at words, but calls to be authenticated by practical choices and gestures, by a life characterized by God’s love; it calls for a great life, a life with an abundance of love for neighbor. Jesus tells us that to follow him, to be his disciples, we must deny ourselves, that is, the demands of our own selfish pride, and take up our own cross. Then he gives everyone a fundamental rule. And what is this rule? “For whoever would save his life will lose it.”  Often in life, for many reasons, we go astray, looking for happiness only in things, or in people whom we treat as things. But we find happiness only when love, true love, encounters us, surprises us, changes us. Love changes everything! And love can also change us, each one of us. The witnesses of Saints prove it.

May the Virgin Mary, who lived her faith by faithfully following her Son Jesus, help us too to walk on his path, generously spending our life for him and for our brothers and sisters.

[Synthesized from Pope Francis, Angelus, IX 16 2018]

Rev. Jos Rajesh Peter M.S.C.