General. The name of God has always been especially significant to the Jewish people, not even vocalizing it in their utterance and writing, treating it with great awe. We pray in this Eucharist that we may love and show reverence to this Name so that we might reciprocate the love shown towards us by its bearer, God and His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Zechariah. God wants to instil a spirit of mercy and prayer in all His people so that they might look up to whom they had transfixed and regret his loss and their doing. In failing to recognize the mercy of God and of His Son, humanity once more transfixes Jesus and fails to address its prayers to the Name which is above all names of him Who is always there ready to help.

Epistle to the Galatians. St Paul outlines a new world order set-up for Abraham’s generation which inherited the promise of divine sonship through faith in Jesus Christ. The separating walls between Jew and Greek, slave and freeman, man and woman have now fallen because all are one in Christ. Jesus is an important person because as Son of God he brings love into the world, for one’s enemy especially, and is a unifying force.

St Luke. Through the Cross is our salvation. To follow Jesus one should bear one’s own cross, a pleasant gift from God which secures one’s salvation. Jesus talks about his own passion and death, yet also reminds us about our own passion (cross) and death (loss of life) if we want to find true everlasting life and salvation. In these circumstances it was indeed difficult to see God made man in Jesus, but Peter recognized Him to be so by calling him the Messiah, the sent one who was expected to save Israel.

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