Saturday, September 27, 2003
25th Week in Ordinary Time

1st Reading: Zec 2:5-9, 14-15
Gospel: Lk 9:43-45

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 delivered into human hands." 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.

Commentary

"And all were astonished at the majesty of God." I remember my philosophy professor who told us repeatedly that at the root of all philosophy is a sense of wonder. This sense of wonder enables thinkers to ask questions about the ultimate reasons of all things. They propose different answers, which according to them give coherence, unity and sense of meaning. If sense of wonder is at the root of philosophy, by extension, we can also say that at the root of all religions is a sense of wonder, of astonishment. When Jesus expelled the evil spirit from a young boy, the people who witnessed were all astonished at the majesty of God. For them it is very clear that the power of God resides in Jesus and works through Jesus. Actually we do not need miracles to make us wonder. There are so many things around us if we just look around and listen and touch and smell and feel to enable us to wonder. Just look at the beauty of a sky at night with all the stars, just smell the fragrance of a rose, just feel the heartbeat of a child, just listen to the laughter of the young and you will feel for yourself the ecstasy and astonishment, of the majesty of God.

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