SUNDAY, TWENTY FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Is 50: 5-9 Ps 116: 1-6, 8-9 Jas 2: 14-18 Mk 8: 27-35
FOR ME, CHRIST IS…
The first reading talks about the right attitude towards suffering, and in particular, the suffering that comes when one strives to be faithful to the Gospel. The fact of suffering is inevitable and often beyond our control. But the effect it has on our lives depends on the way we deal with it. Some of the common reactions are anger, sadness, despair and desperation. These attitudes only add to the suffering, making it a heavier burden to bear. Prophet Isaiah instead proposes a different attitude; that of hope in the Lord. In the midst of suffering, he proclaims: “The Lord comes to my help”. Hope lightens the weight of suffering, for it rests on faith in the power of the Lord to transform the burden into something more, as He transformed the cross into an instrument of salvation.
The suffering servant had full confidence and trust in the Lord, Hoping that God who would save him. Is your first response to suffering, hope as well? However, we know from experience that it is difficult to have the hope that Isaiah recommends. Furthermore, every sincere good work brings with it a sacrifice which is difficult in its own right. How then do we surmount these difficulties so as to live an authentic Christian life?
The second reading shifts our attention from those who suffer to those who witness the sufferings of others. If the first reading recommends us to hope in the help of the Lord in moments of suffering, the second reading exhorts us to become instruments of the help of the Lord to others who suffer. Faith does not only mean having hope in the Lord; it also means becoming a sign of hope to others by making ourselves available to Him in the work of salvation. As Saint James affirms: “This is how faith is: if it is not followed by works, it is dead in itself.” By doing good works, one becomes the visible face of the Lord who alone is good.
In the Gospel passage, Jesus asks us the same question put to Peter: “Who do you say that I am?”, Jesus asked his disciples, before telling them of his imminent passion and death. He wanted to know if they knew him better than the rest of the crowd. And Peter answered rightly; “You are the Christ.” He knew the answer; but alas, he didn’t know its meaning. Jesus appreciates Peter saying that he did not receive this answer from flesh and blood, by human efforts, but from the heavenly Father. Peter knew who Jesus was, the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the One who came into the world to save the world. It is not enough that we just know something about Christ, but we need to know Christ fully. Thus, when Jesus began to explain that Christ was not only the one who had the power to work miracles and authority over unclean spirits but also the one who had to suffer terribly and die on the cross, Peter could not accept it. It is the same with us. We often know the answer, but not what it means. We know of the Lord, but we often do not know Him truly. This is what causes the difficulty in hoping in times of suffering, and in unhesitatingly taking upon sacrifices in the service of others.
For example, if the idea of the Lord is that of a dictator who blesses what is good and punishes what is evil, the Christian life will become a great burden, characterized by fear and discouragement. If one thinks that, for God, only one’s personal relationship with Him matters and not the relationship with others, the Christian life will become a private and individual journey saturated with personal prayers and devotions, devoid of charity and compassion. If someone believes, as did the Pharisees and scribes of the time of Jesus, that fidelity to the laws and precepts is all that is required, his Christian life will be found lacking in the intimate relationship on which is grounded every commandment and will be reduced to a series of obligations to be fulfilled. It is our understanding of God that shapes our attitudes, and more importantly, our identity as Christians. Hence today, we are invited to ask ourselves the question, “Who do I say God is?” or, more appropriately, “Who is Christ for me?” May the prayer of St Augustine always be on our lips and in our hearts: “Lord, grant me the grace to know myself and to know you.”
Response: I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living.
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