Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Luke (9: 43-45) in which Jesus tells his disciples, ‘The Son of Man is going to be handed over into the power of men.’

Fr Paul says, today’s Gospel is the second of three great prophecies of the passion, that is the arrest, torture, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In each of the three prophecies Jesus uses the mysterious term ‘Son of Man’ about himself, maybe in some way to soften the horror of what is to happen. The atmosphere around Jesus starts to become more sombre and there is a growing sense of dread about what is to happen.

As we hear in the Gospel, Luke expresses that the disciples don’t understand just what it is to happen because Jesus keeps it hidden from them. As we hear at the very end, the disciples themselves are just too afraid to ask.

Mindful of today’s Gospel, Fr Paul says we might ask ourselves, ‘What fear or fears keep me from coming closer to Jesus?’