September 28, 2013

Saturday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time 
Lectionary: 454
Reading 1 ZEC 2:5-9, 14-15A

A reading from the book of Zechariah

I, Zechariah, raised my eyes and looked:
there was a man with a measuring line in his hand.
I asked, “Where are you going?”
He answered, “To measure Jerusalem,
to see how great is its width and how great its length.”

Zechariah sees a vision of the heavenly Jerusalem.

Then the angel who spoke with me advanced,
and another angel came out to meet him and said to him,
“Run, tell this to that young man:
People will live in Jerusalem as though in open country,
because of the multitude of men and beasts in her midst.
But I will be for her an encircling wall of fire, says the LORD,
and I will be the glory in her midst.”

And he learns that in the end, Jerusalem will be God's dwelling place with His people.

Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion!
See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD.
Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day,
and they shall be his people and he will dwell among you.

This will come to fulfillment in the end of days, when the Heavenly Jerusalem will be revealed to all who love the Lord (Rev 21:2).

Responsorial Psalm JER 31:10, 11-12AB, 13

R. (see 10d) The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
proclaim it on distant isles, and say:
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,
he guards them as a shepherd guards his flock.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
The LORD shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
they shall come streaming to the LORD’s blessings.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.

This is the prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ.  He protects those who love God and keep the Commandments (Heb 5:9).

Gospel LK 9:43B-45

While they were all amazed at his every deed,
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Pay attention to what I am telling you.
The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.”
But they did not understand this saying;
its meaning was hidden from them
so that they should not understand it,
and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

The Apostles did not realize that Jesus had to die in order to redeem the sins of the Old Testament so that the faithful Jews which had been called, could receive the gift of eternal inheritance (Heb 9:15).

Nor either, that He had to die to give us an example that we should follow in His steps (1 Pet 2:21) that we who live might live no longer for ourselves, but for Him who died for us and rose again (2 Cor 5:15).