Blessed Virgin Mary

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊  

Zechariah 2:5-9, 14-15a

 Raising my eyes again,

I saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. I asked, “Where are you go­ing?”   He answered, “I’m going to measure Jerusalem, to find its width and its length.”   As the angel who spoke to me came forward, another angel met him  and said, “Run and tell this to that young man: ‘Jerusalem will remain unwalled because of its multitude of people and live­stock.’

  For this is the word of Yahweh: I myself will be around her like a wall of fire, and also within her in Glory.”   “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for I am about to come, I shall dwell among you,” says Yahweh.

 “On that day, many nations will join Yahweh and be my people, but my dwelling is among you.”

 

Jer 31:10, 11-12ab, 13

The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊      

Luke 9:43b-45

And all who saw it were astonished at God’s wonderful work. But while all were amazed at everything Jesus did, he said to his disciples, “Listen, and remember what I tell you now: The Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of men.”

But the disciples didn’t understand this saying; something prevented them from grasping what he meant, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

 

Gospel Reflection：

The disciples are ecstatic. Jesus once again performs many miracles in plain sight of many. These cement Jesus’ reputation as a wonderful Teacher and a Thaumaturge (the maker of miraculous things). They are proud of their Teacher’s accomplishment.

They, by association will also find respect among the populace. It is because of this that they could not understand what their Teacher is telling them. Who would entertain thoughts of betrayal when you are on top of the world?

And so, the word of Jesus fell on deaf ears that entertain thoughts of future glory. The disciples are already calculating gains over the wonderful performance of the group. Jesus has to face the sad future alone.