This one is hard to swallow. Can Jesus really deny the person who denies Him? Whatever happened to the “God is faithful to me no matter what” tagline? 

In the Jewish culture during biblical days, “acknowledging me before others” is a requisite to a genuine relationship, in the same manner that a wedding ceremony is the “formal acknowledgement before others” of your love and commitment to your would-be spouse. If you don’t show up on the wedding day, this means you didn’t acknowledge your partner before others—you denied him or her before others. 

The Gospel today reminds us of two important truths: First, discipleship is a serious relationship. The “Jesus Fad or Fling” never works. You give your all, or there’s no relationship at all. Second, Peter was truly committed but not perfect. Peter denied Jesus, but Jesus never denied him. In fact, it even became the greatest comeback story ever told. Jon Escoto (faithatworkjon@gmail.com) 

Reflect:

In what ways do you deny Jesus before others? In what ways does He express His faithfulness amidst your denials? 

Jesus, I acknowledge my denials. Forgive me. Thank You for Your unending faithfulness. Amen.

 Saint Henry II, pray for us.

Isaiah knows he is unworthy to speak for the Lord. So are we, but by God’s grace, we have been chosen to spread the Good News to all creation. Let us be thankful for this privilege and grace and be faithful to it. Let us be ready for the times when God will call us to share the Good News to those around us. 

¹ In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment filling the temple. ² Seraphim were stationed above; each of them had six wings: with two they veiled their faces, with two they veiled their feet, and with two they hovered aloft. ³ They cried one to the other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!” ⁴ At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke. ⁵ Then I said, “Woe is me; I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” ⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ He touched my mouth with it and said, “See, now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.” ⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said; “send me!” 

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 93:1, 1-2, 5

R: The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty. 

¹ The Lord is king, in splendor robed; robed is the Lord and girt about with strength. (R) And he has made the world firm, not to be moved. ² Your throne stands firm from of old; from everlasting you are, O Lord. (R) ⁵ Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed: holiness befits your house, O Lord, for length of days. (R) 

Gospel | Matthew 10:24-33

Jesus reminds us to never be ashamed for the Gospel. Let us proclaim to others that the Gospel is the supreme truth of human existence and that there is no eternal life without it. Sharing the Good News to others is our duty and obligation. If we fail to do this, we endanger our salvation as we are not being true to what we have received. Let us pray for the grace to fulfill our mission for the Gospel. 

Gospel Acclamation

If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of God rests upon you. 

²⁴ Jesus said to his Apostles: “No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple that he become like histeacher, for the slave that he become like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household! ²⁶ “Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. ²⁷ What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. ²⁸ And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. ²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. ³⁰ Even all the hairs of your head are counted. ³¹ So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. ³² Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. ³³ But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.” 

Read the Bible in one year! Read PSALMS 31 - 35 today.

God is all good, He knows all, and nothing is impossible with Him. Putting these things together makes us wonder: Why does God allow pain and persecution to afflict especially those who are His, those who put faith in Him? This has been an ageless wondering. 

Musing over the words of Jesus for this day, we can catch a glimpse of the divine logic on the manifold values of suffering for the faithful.Experiential Discipleship. Passing through pain and suffering, we re-live in our own person the marks of the cross of the Divine Master who Himself went through His own passion and death. 

The Value of Redemption. Jesus’ passion and death was His way of redemption. Redemption came with a precious price. The suffering disciple must not simply endure. One must go through pain and suffering in a redemptive manner: offering every bit of hurt in atonement and reparation for sinfulness around us. Also, one can offer everything as an intercession and supplication for the good of another. Suffering can be an opportunity to offer oneself in oneness with Jesus for the good of all. 

Submission to God’s Fatherhood. The adult in us wants to know everything. We cannot say “yes” readily when we do not yet know all about something placed before us. We demand an explanation. In contrast, the child says “yes” and obey even without clear and exhaustive knowledge of things. Children rely not on their own understanding but on the trust and confidence that they have on the father who loves them. 

In His stories and teachings, Jesus emphasizes the Fatherhood of God. This was obviously His security and source of confidence in His earthly ministry. At the start of the ministry during His baptism at the Jordan River, and before the final ascent to Jerusalem where Jesus had to undergo His passion, the Father-Son bond was highlighted in theophanis where the Father affirmed Jesus: “You are My Son, on whom I am well pleased.” Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP 

Reflection Questions

What has been your most challenging encounter with pain and suffering? Did you find any benefit from this experience? 

Dearest Lord, I offer all my pains and suffering in atonement for the sins of the world. Amen.

Today, I pray for: _________________________________