Daily Reading
First Reading
Ecclesiastes 11:9—12:8
Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Follow the inclination of your heart and the desire of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
Banish anxiety from your mind, and put away pain from your body; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.
Remember your creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come, and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return with the rain; in the day when the guards of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the women who grind cease working because they are few, and those who look through the windows see dimly; when the doors on the street are shut, and the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low; when one is afraid of heights, and terrors are in the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along and desire fails; because all must go to their eternal home, and the mourners will go about the streets; before the silver cord is snapped, and the golden bowl is broken, and the pitcher is broken at the fountain, and the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath returns to God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher; all is vanity.
Psalm
Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17
You turn us back to dust,
and say, “Turn back, you mortals.”
For a thousand years in your sight
are like yesterday when it is past,
or like a watch in the night.
You sweep them away; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning;
in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.
So teach us to count our days
that we may gain a wise heart.
Turn, O Lord! How long?
Have compassion on your servants!
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and prosper for us the work of our hands—
O prosper the work of our hands!
Gospel Reading
Luke 9:43b-45
And all were astounded at the greatness of God.
While everyone was amazed at all that he was doing, he said to his disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands.” But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was concealed from them, so that they could not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
Reflection
Friends, today for the second time in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus foretells his imminent death.
Jesus spoke frequently of his “hour,” the culmination of his life’s work, and this hour coincides with his cross. In what is perhaps the most disturbing mystery of the New Testament, this macabre glorification through crucifixion is not simply the result of evil human choices; it is also willed by the one whom Jesus called “Abba, Father.” Somehow, it is the deepest purpose of the incarnation; somehow, it is why he was sent.
And therefore the assault on death was the ultimate mission of the Son of God. There could be no place untouched by the divine mercy, no refuge from the press of God’s relentless love. Because the Son has gone to the limits of godforsakenness, we run from the Father only to find ourselves, at the end of our running, in the arms of the Son.
As a parent would go anywhere in order to rescue his child, so God, the parent of the human race, went into the darkest reaches of body and soul in order to save us. And therefore this is the meaning of the cross: God is heart-broken love.