Cycle C – Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 19, 2016

“Who do you say that I am? …”

OPENING PRAYER (Psalm 63):

Leader:O God, you are my God, I seek you,

my soul thirsts for you.

All:my flesh faints for you,

like a dry and weary land.

Leader:So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding your power and glory.

All:Because your steadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise you.

Amen.

First Reading – Zechariah 12:10-11

The readings begin with Zechariah’s prophecy about the Suffering Servant (containing echoes of Isaiah), with the addition that the piercing is a public event. Connected to today’s Gospel, we see in these words the suffering of Jesus: “One of the soldiers pierced his side.” (Jn 19:34-37) as the suffering Messiah. That the Messiah would suffer was a concept foreign to the Jewish expectation of the Messiah. For us, the suffering of Jesus became the door through which we are purified and redeemed.

  1. “Pour out, look, pierced, mourn, grieve” – a lot of verbs.

Which one touches you most? Why?

  1. God mourns over every innocent death as over an only child.

How is God’s mourning different/the same as ours?

Second Reading – Galatians 3:26-29

Where Zechariah tells of the persecution awaiting God’s chosen one, and Luke has Jesus summon us to take up our cross, Paul in this excerpt from his letter to the Galatians shows us what the cost of such discipleship looks like; it asks for our total surrender of prejudice, of power and control games, of discrimination. In Christ, all human barriers are transcended and a radical equality needs to find concrete expression among the baptized.

  1. How do we in our parish/church give expression to this radical equality?
  2. What do you find most difficult in your own life about such a radical equality?

Gospel Reading – Luke 9:18-24

Jesus’ question in today’s Gospel resounds throughout time, addressing every baptized follower of Jesus Christ. Even today a multitude of opinions abound about Jesus. The question “Who do you say I am?” challenges us over and over into a change in mind and heart, daily. Taking up our cross is the clearest illustration that we indeed share Peter’s response: “The Messiah of God.”

  1. What word or phrase speaks to you most strongly today?
  2. Who in our parish/church/world exhibits characteristics of Christian discipleship?
  3. How have you learned to save your life by losing your life?

LIVING THE WORD

What is God’s challenge to me this coming week?

PRAYING THE WORD

Intercession: We pray for those who are persecuted because of their beliefs,

and for those who are martyred for their faith in Jesus.

We pray to the Lord.

(Invite personal intentions, ending with “Our Father…”)

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Leader:Lord God,

the measure of our love for you and one another

reflects the measure of our commitment as a disciple of Jesus.

All:Such radical love can come in the form of a cross.

Give us courage to take up that cross of love.

Leader:Pour your spirit of compassion and supplication on us

and fill our hearts with zeal for justice.

All:Help us to build community in the spirit of your Son,

that spirit of Christ which makes us one.

Amen