Ecclesiastes discovers God in the order of the world and says that the beauty of nature is a call to freedom which invites a person to be thankful and creative. He teaches people to remember the Creator while they are young.

Why young? Because the remembering will, little by little, become a presence and a source of joy. The bitterness of old age will not affect those who have with them the God, who is the joy of their youth (cf. Ps 43:4).

The psalmist sings in confidence that in life's ups and downs, in every age, the person can take shelter in God's loving-kindness.

Luke contrasts people's amazement at Jesus' deeds and his disciples' fear of suffering and lack of comprehension of it. Jesus is saying to his disciples that salvation is acquired through his suffering.

We may still grapple with the meanings of human sufferings. But the readings today speak to us about what God is to us. Now with Jesus, our relationship with God goes beyond Creator-creature but Saviour and the Saved, because eternal life has been won back for us by the Suffering Christ who has died on the Cross.