Commentary on the Gospel of September 27, 2025

The Logic of the Cross, the Logic of Love

It would be interesting to know the exact Aramaic phrase Jesus used when He said, “Let this sink into your ears.” It probably carried the same tone as when we say, “Get this through your head.” The phrase shows some frustration and reproach toward those who, it seems, just don’t learn—hardheaded disciples.

Jesus had repeatedly stressed that His mission was not about power and triumph but about self-giving and the cross. Yet the disciples still didn’t get it. They couldn’t or wouldn’t understand, and fear paralyzed them. When Luke says, “They did not understand this saying,” it shows they were living by a different logic, perhaps the one expressed in today’s reading from Ecclesiastes.

We must admit the same happens to us. We don’t truly let the mystery of the cross “sink in”—especially when it becomes real in our own lives. We don’t grasp this logic; it makes no sense to us. Fear ties our tongues, and we prefer not to talk or ask questions about it.

This shows we need conversion. To what? To the logic of Jesus—which is not, by the way, a logic of suffering for its own sake. It is not some spiritual masochism opposed to life’s joys. Jesus’ logic is the logic of love. It does not love suffering, but it is ready to suffer for the sake of those He loves. That is what He did—and that is what He calls us to do.

Enjoying life is not forbidden, as Qohelet counsels (and Jesus Himself shows us, eating and drinking and enjoying the company of His friends). But we must not forget that these joys are fleeting and empty if we forget the higher joy to which we are called: full communion in God’s love. That love has already begun to work in this world, because Jesus lives among us. Through His word and example, He teaches us—He drives into our heads—the demanding logic of love.

Fraternal greetings,