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30 ago 2026

30 August 2026 – 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A

30 August 2026 – 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A

1st reading: Jer 20:7–9; Psalm 62; 2nd reading: Rom 12:1–2; Gospel: Matt 16:21–27

God’s thoughts and plans are truly unpredictable to us. He takes us by surprise, as the prophet Jeremiah says today: ‘You have seduced me, Lord, and I let myself be seduced.’ When the Lord speaks, he convinces us, but then we realise that what he intends to do and say is different from how we understand it. That is why the prophet says: ‘You have seduced me.’ God’s proposal seems wonderful, but it then turns out not to be accepted by people. They truly have other thoughts and conflicting desires, so much so that those who proclaim God’s proposals find themselves rejected and persecuted. Jeremiah would like to reject the call to proclaim the words that make him unpopular with people, but he must say: ‘It was like a burning fire in my heart’, so much so that he cannot bring himself to refuse to obey.

This is what happens to Jesus’ disciples: he tells them what God’s will for him will be, as declared by Simon Peter: ‘The Christ, the Son of the living God’. And it is precisely this disciple who rejects his Master’s revelation, which foretells his passion, death and resurrection. After hearing it, he steps forward to rebuke him; he does so with confidence, perhaps because he had been praised by Jesus for his declaration of faith. He knows who Jesus is, but he does not accept his path; he does not realise that what is foretold for him is the Father’s will. The prophets reveal it clearly, and Jesus clearly repeats their words, but Peter refuses to accept it, saying: ‘God forbid, Lord; this will never happen to you.’

Even if they are unwelcome to man, the Lord’s words remain as they are. Peter has been given an important role in the kingdom of God, yet he must be corrected, rebuked and instructed. Jesus has to say to him: ‘Follow me’, take your place as a disciple, and do not put yourself in front, as if you were none other than my teacher. Return to your place, otherwise ‘you are a stumbling block to me’, that is to say: through the refusal you express in your words, you are trying to prevent me from doing the Father’s will, from saving mankind by carrying my cross; your words are worthy of Satan, the adversary, who always seeks to prevent the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, and who has already tried in the desert to deceive me by proposing choices shared by idolatrous people.

Jesus completes his teaching for all the disciples. The cross is not his prerogative alone, but is the normal lot of all those who wish to follow him. Building the Kingdom of Heaven comes at a cost to everyone, not just its King. He sets the example, and above all provides the motivation: ‘To serve and to give one’s life as a ransom for many’. What will be the cross that the disciples will bear? They will deny themselves! This is a call that runs counter to all human desires: to deny oneself! The opportunities arise daily, and in various forms.

How can I deny myself? First of all, I do not complain about anything. I do not complain about my health problems, my forgetfulness, my shortcomings, but above all I do not complain about others: about how they treat me, how they fail to understand me, how they keep me waiting with their delays, how they speak without kindness, how they sometimes despise me or fail to listen to me; and I do not complain about their sins. I deny myself even when I control my speech and respond with peace and gentleness, even to aggressive words. And then, every day there are unexpected events to face, denying my own haste and desires, all with peace and serenity and surrender to the Father and his Providence.

In this way, we also fulfil the words that Saint Paul offers us today: ‘I urge you to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.’ He, too, gives us an interpretation of self-denial, saying: ‘Do not conform to this world, but let yourselves be transformed by renewing your minds.’ We live in the kingdom of heaven, and so we must strive not to adopt or cling to the ‘normal’ ways of this world. We are already all too accustomed to thinking and acting, in both small and great matters, as is customary in the world, where vanity, pride, and various forms of selfishness and greed are the norm. Thanks to Jesus’ teachings, we renew our ways of thinking and behaving. For this reason, we must practise denying ourselves, even if this becomes a cross for us to bear, at times a heavy one. It is the cross through which we become ‘a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God’.

It is a joy for us to obey Jesus, even when such obedience is not appreciated by those who live with us or near us. Like Jeremiah, we shall say: ‘There was a burning fire within my heart’—the fire kindled by Jesus, which enables us to experience every act of obedience to him as a great blessing!

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)