Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church
In today’s Gospel, Jesus said to his disciples, “Pay attention to what I am telling you,” (Luke 9:44). So what is Jesus telling us? In this short excerpt, Jesus predicted that he will be handed over which will eventually lead to his death. I don’t know about you, but I needed some context. Before this passage, Jesus healed a boy with a demon, and just before that, he said about his disciples who failed to heal the boy, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you and endure you?” Then, after this Gospel passage, Jesus tells his disciples that whoever receives a child, who at the time held one of the lowest places in society, and whoever is the least will be the greatest.
It seems to me that all of what he was telling is about being his disciple. Being a disciple means to have faith in God, a faith that God has called you and me and gives us all that we need to live out this call. The disciples doubted that they couldn’t heal, and so it didn’t happen. When do you doubt God and yourself? What attitudes and dispositions can you take on that can help grow your faith in God and in what God has called you to do and be?
Being a disciple also means that being the least. We can’t let our pride and ego get in the way of bringing in the Kingdom of God. We also need humility to not only stand up for the marginalized but to be with them too and to do that in such a way that they are people with dignity and not people to be pitied. Even Jesus was friends with those in the lowest rungs of society.
Today’s Gospel itself reminds me of carrying our cross. Jesus predicted that he would be handed over to authorities which then led to him carrying his cross to his death. Even the prospect of being arrested was a cross for him. In a later part of the Gospel, Jesus called his disciples to take up their cross daily and follow him (Luke 9:23). What is your cross? How do you carry it? How does your cross help you to become a better disciple?
In today’s first reading, the prophet Zechariah proclaims that God will dwell among God’s people. God already dwells within us. Through faith, humility, and perseverance in carrying our cross (fortitude), God’s presence becomes more visible in the world. May you attentively listen to God in your life.
-Sr. Emily Sandoval, FMI