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Gospel Commentary for Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Responsibility and Grace
Jesus continues His teaching about the Christian life as one of responsibility and watchfulness. But this teaching really has a universal reach. Every human being—believer or not, whether they recognize Christ as the Messiah and Son of God or not—is called to live consciously, with eyes open, responsibly, ready to answer for their actions, if not before God, then at least before their own conscience, which—as people used to say (and perhaps we should say again)—is the voice of God within us.
So, when Jesus responds to Peter’s question, He confirms that His words apply to everyone. But He adds an important nuance: we are all responsible, but not all to the same degree. This must be emphasized, because being Christian means having received more than others—more grace, more understanding of God’s will, more insight into the true meaning of life and its final purpose. Yet this “extra measure” of grace increases our responsibility. Our faith is not a privilege that puts us proudly above others (a kind of Christian Pharisaism), but a gift that should move us to love more deeply, to give ourselves more generously, to serve our brothers and sisters better, and to forgive—wholeheartedly—those who offend or persecute us (sometimes even believing they are serving God, or who knows what cause).
The gifts of faith and grace make us free—free precisely to love. Paul, who grasped better than anyone the great newness of faith in Christ, gives us today a masterful lesson on true freedom. We often think of freedom in a negative sense—as the removal of all limits, even moral ones, so we can do whatever we please. But that is the path to slavery. Our impulses are not usually wise counselors. True freedom makes us look upward and walk toward what is higher. That requires effort and renunciation, but these are the wings that lift us above sin, enabling us to do good and to love with an undivided heart.
The freedom of the children of God, to which Paul calls us today, is the best way to stay awake—with gratitude for the gift of faith in Christ, and with responsibility, responding with love to the love we have received from God.
Fraternal greetings,