Twenty-Fourth Sunday of the Year (September 13, 2015)

James 2:14-18
Mark 8: 27-35
Isaiah 50:4c-9a

Jesus poses the ultimate question to his disciples in the gospel today. In fact throughout the first half of Mark’s gospel this most important question is posed time and time again. Many people had their own answers about who Jesus was: for some Jesus was a man under suspicion, a blasphemer [Mark 2:7], whose disciples observe neither the Sabbath [2:24] nor the traditions of the elders [7:1-23], a man possessed by the devil [3:22]. Jesus already knew these answers whether they were said aloud or whispered in the silence of people’s hearts. The disciples were also aware of the mixed verdict about the character of Jesus. Our Lord was not interested in these particular answers but only in the views of the multitudes that sought to seek his face and live. They were troubled by the negative attitude of the scribes and Pharisees and were also confused because they assumed he was a great prophet, perhaps John the Baptist? Elijah?  

Today’s first reading from the prophet Isaiah gives us a glimpse of Jesus. This passage is one of four poems called “Songs of the Suffering Servant”. The person described in these poems is rather mysterious, he undergoes torments, yet his attachment to God’s will in the midst of suffering is unwavering. He is convinced that he will see his righteousness recognized and rewarded. Because of this the Christian tradition has always viewed this ‘just one’, persecuted and then exalted by God, as one of the most striking figures of Christ. [Days of the Lord vol.5]

The intimate friends of Christ struggled with his identity even after the resurrection. And yet we know from history that they all came to believe who Jesus was for many of them gave their lives for the sake of Christ. Like Peter we so often acknowledge the Lord with our lips and our faith is held hostage by our perceived notion of how Christ should act in and through us. For Peter, the Messiah should not have been a suffering servant but a triumphant king who conquers all in his way.

Peter’s challenge is still our challenge today. So often we may be disappointed in Jesus precisely because of our preconceived notion of what Jesus should be for us. What I have found helpful is to view Jesus as he appeared in the Emmaus story, walking with me and enlightening my faith, sharing with me the scriptures and breaking the bread before me so that I might become convinced of who Jesus really is. Certainly the Christian life is one of pilgrimage, a journey, which takes, soo many turns, filled with missed opportunities and disappointments but also hope and joy. Our hopes and joy can only be realized when we allow Christ to walk with us and invite him under our roof so that in the breaking of bread we become firm believers of his person.

We must all in our lives become more and more convinced of whom Jesus is, and we all have the benefit of the liturgy to teach us, to mold us and to assure us on our pilgrimage of faith. When we follow Jesus we certainly will win the crown but let us remember the first crown he wore was a crown of thorns as he took up his cross to lead us to salvation. On Monday the Church will celebrate the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The Church prayers in the preface of the feast: “For you placed the salvation of the human race on the wood of the Cross, so that, where death arose, life might again spring forth and the evil one, who conquered on a tree, might likewise on a tree be conquered…” This prayer is beautifully illustrated in a stain glass window, where in the lower panel the tree of life is depicted with Adam and Eve and the serpent. In the upper panel the same tree stretches into the cross of Christ, defeating Satan at last. Here then is another image of who Christ should be for us, the answer to the great tragedy of sin and death.

Jesus must be for us someone who is real, for when the question is posed, ‘its is no longer a question of reporting what others think, we must make a personal choice, a personal commitment, we must move beyond opinion to a faith decision, say what we really believe instead of relying solely on what we have heard or read in a book. For us Jesus is word and sacrament, real food and real drink. May we become more convinced of this not only in receiving but allowing the Eucharist to transform us day after day.