Daily Gospel Reflection
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December 11, 2021
As they were coming down from the mountain,
the disciples asked Jesus,
“Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
He said in reply, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things;
but I tell you that Elijah has already come,
and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased.
So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.”
Then the disciples understood
that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
This wonderful passage comes right after the transfiguration, where Peter, James, and John receive quite the glimpse into who Jesus really is! Here, they question him about the belief that Elijah must come first before the Messiah. Based on Jesus’ answer, they realize that John the Baptist has fulfilled this role of forerunner.
It is notable to consider the religious and civil authorities’ responses to John and Jesus. Instead of heeding John’s call to repentance or admitting that Jesus was indeed the anointed one of God, they ultimately rejected and killed both men. What is it about our fallen nature that we sometimes fail to see the truth of what is right in front of us?
As a society, we have at times had to acknowledge the errors of our past or pray and work for an end to the injustices of our time. Since Juneteenth is now a federal holiday, we as a nation will have at least the annual occasion to recall the terrible scourge of slavery in our country as well as the racism that continued afterwards. It can be upsetting to think about how our communities and even our churches failed to acknowledge the presence of God in all people and sadly based people’s worth on the color of their skin. We must fight this urge and try to see people and situations as God does.
I think that is the main point of what Jesus is telling us. Instead of trusting solely our own sight and human intuition, we must ask for help and rely on God’s grace to see things from a divine perspective. Otherwise, we might fail to recognize God in our very midst.
Prayer
Dear Lord, there is much to do this day. Give us wisdom when we are filled with questions. Grant us a grateful heart when we feel discouraged. Open our eyes to the opportunities that await us. Steady our pace so that we can see you in the people and challenges that will come our way today. Let us be pure of spirit so your glory may guide our thinking and acting. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Damasus I, pope from the fourth century, is most famous for asking St. Jerome to translate the Bible.
Damasus was deacon in Rome and elected pope when he was 60 years old. The election was marked by opposition and even violence—he struggled against rivals for the rest of his pontificate.
He was patron to a brilliant scholar, Jerome, who served as his secretary before Damasus encouraged him to study and revise the old Latin translations of the Bible in use at the time. Today's featured image depicts Jerome presenting his translation, the Vulgate, to Damasus.
Damasus also contributed to the practice of venerating relics. He drained and opened the Christian catacombs and even wrote inscriptions for many of the graves. His own relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
As his own death neared, he penned his own epitaph. Popes before him had been buried together in a papal crypt, but he only had an inscription placed there that read, “I, Damasus, wished to be buried here, but I feared to offend the ashes of these holy ones.”
Instead, he was buried with his mother and sister in a small church. This is the epitaph that he wrote for his own grave:
“He who walking on the sea could calm the bitter waves, who gives life to the dying seeds of the earth; He who was able to loose the mortal chains of death, and after three days’ darkness could bring again to the upper world the brother of his sister Martha: He, I believe, will make Damasus rise again from the dust.”
Pope St. Damasus I, you loved God’s Word and trusted in the resurrection, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Damasus I is in the public domain. Last accessed November 21, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
