Readings and meditation on the Word of God on the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 30, 2026

Delivered by Jeniffer Arcilla and Peter Balsamus Dwiwasa from the Parish of Santo Andreas Kim Tae Gon in the Archdiocese of Jakarta, Indonesia. Jeremiah 20: 7-9; Rs psalm 63: 2.3-4.5-6.8-9; Romans 12: 1-2; Matthew 16: 21-27.THE CHALLENGE OF SELF-DENIAL The theme for our meditation on this 22nd Sunday inOrdinary Time is: The Challenge of Self-Denial. We all followers of Christalways hear, speak and practice self-denial. Let us see about this in what hashappened with two children, the siblings, who were still in elementary school,grade six and four. They were trained to make the bed after waking up. They often felt bored and lazy to do it. For children,waking up in the morning and immediately making the bed is normally veryunpleasant. However, parents patiently and diligently guide the two children toovercome boredom and laziness. The older boy also motivated his sister, thatthey kept making their beds, and when this became already a good habit, theywere no longer bored and lazy. Any attempts to overcome boredom or laziness, andconsistency in their implementations, are some examples of self-denial. Theessence of every act of self-denial is the control or denial of certainpersonal desire or pleasure. The purpose of this denial is for the sake ofcarrying out and achieving the goal according to the will of God and not ourown will.  God’s will indeed gives us thehighest hope for our salvation, even though it has to go through a difficultmethod and process. All forms of self-denial that we practice in thisworld draw their strength and inspiration from the Lord Jesus Christ. Intoday's celebration He teaches us that self-denial is the only way for us tofollow Him. The way of Jesus is the way of the cross and we are required to beable to carry the cross of every one of us, so that we will be in the same wayand in the company with Jesus Christ. The cross is a sign of trouble andsuffering that we need to enjoy and endure. We can't deny and throw it away. The prophet Jeremiah explained that we should practiceself-denial by overcoming temptation to ignore and deny God's word. When wehear the striking and demanding Word of God, we should not avoid it. Saint Paulalso teaches us to practice self-denial by scarificing our bodies, and not justoffering our souls and spirits. Our bodies cannot be prisons for our spiritsand souls. When our bodies are tired and sick, we cannot pray and serve onbehalf of God. If our eyes, ears and touch are not functioning properly, theycan cause us to fall into sin. The fact is clear, that we are still not good enoughand consistent in the practice of self-denial in order to become true disciplesof Jesus. All forms of sacrifice or self-denial are the challenge for us. Wehave to live with it and there is no turning back. Let'spray. In the name of the Father ... O Lord, through today' celebration, may webecome more and more united with the cross of Your Son. Help us to be alwaysfaithful to You.  Our Father who art inheaven ... In the name of the Father ...