Scripture Reflection, September 13: Who Do You Say That I Am?
Scripture Reflection, September 13, 2009: Who Do You Say That I Am?
Scripture Readings:
Isaiah 50:5-9a
Psalm 116
James 2:14-18
Mark 8:27-35
Who do you say that I am? This is the famous question that Jesus asks Peter in today’s Gospel reading. We have heard it many times. But let’s stop for a second and put ourselves in Peter’s shoes. How would we answer if we were in Peter’s place? After 2.000 years of Church tradition, our answer today would probably reflect our theological and spiritual preparation, knowledge and experience.
But who is Jesus really for us? Leaving aside the theological background information, let’s ask ourselves which role Jesus plays in our lives? Is he the emergency doctor? Someone who has lived 2000 years ago and failed in his mission? A good friend and partner on the journey? Someone we can talk to and in whom we trust no matter what?
If we reflect on those images, we will most probably realize that we, like Peter, have very specific ideas of who Jesus is and what he should do. It’s true: I do think Jesus should always be available when I need him. He should listen to me, help me, support me, make me feel his presence and prevent my life from evil… Aren’t we like Peter, who has a certain idea of how Jesus should carry out his mission? And he doesn’t like the way Jesus himself sees his future: Suffering and death? No way!!! But Jesus admonishes Peter in a strong way: Get behind me, Satan!
Besides naming Peter “Satan”, which in Hebrew means the accuser and in Arabic the adversary - someone who works against God’s plans – he commands him to get behind him. To get behind Jesus, means not to lead, but to follow Jesus. He reminds Peter that he is called to be the disciple and not the master. It means for him to let go of his idea of how Jesus has to do his job. Get behind me means to surrender his own plans to God’s plans and to trust in his love. And Jesus explains to Peter what it means to be a disciple of Christ: Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. That’s probably not what Peter expected when he decided to follow Jesus.
The image of the cross stands for many things in the Christian tradition. But the original meaning lies most probably in the calling to share Christ’s cross. This Gospel story is a prediction of Christ’s passion and the saving power of his death. The passion and death of Jesus are not isolated events but are integral to his whole ministry and a consequence of his faithfulness to his mission. His passion was the outcome of his obedient proclamation of the message of the kingdom despite his people’s rejection.
The first reading from the third servant song of Second Isaiah is closely connected with the passion of Jesus in the Christian tradition. Israel is coming home from exile and is rejecting Isaiah’s message. But the prophet doesn’t give up. God has given him the word and he must deliver it, even at the cost of personal suffering. And he is confident that God will eventually prove him right. The psalm describes God’s faithfulness to the people who put their trust in him. It provides a pattern of divine action that finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ: Whoever loses his life (…) will save it.
When God calls someone to a specific mission, it is often times connected with a sense of joy, fulfillment and peace. But once we decide to follow Christ, the journey only begins. And Jesus doesn’t always correspond to our plans. As disciples of Jesus, we have to be ready for all kind of surprises. I remember that when I committed myself to the Focolare movement and its spirituality and spent three months at a formation center for young adults in Italy, my friends completely ignored me at my return. They just couldn’t understand what I was doing. To be faithful to God is not only to proclaim our faith, as James reminds us in the second reading. We can’t talk about faith without demonstrating it through our works and actions. And this can get us into trouble some time, as it did for Jesus and the Old Testament prophets. It can mean sometimes standing up against the mainstream and encounter contradiction and misunderstanding. It can mean giving up our comfortable way of living and follow a new call. It can mean getting our hands dirty and pay the price for solidarity with the poor and marginalized. These are some of the crosses we are called to pick up.
I think we have all experienced negative consequences of our faithfulness to the Gospel message: Maybe we have been attacked by our friends who don’t understand why we have to go to Church on Sunday, instead of going to the football game with them. Maybe people tell us, we shouldn’t lose time by volunteering in homeless shelters and orphanages. Maybe they warn us that people will take advantage of our generosity and kindness. Take up your cross and follow me is the message that Jesus repeats to us today and in our times. This cross stands for the negative consequences to which Jesus’ disciples expose themselves. It is the cost of being disciple of Christ. And we don’t have to look for the crosses or opportunities for self-denial. Denial of self comes with the good works. It comes with the choice of a free and healthy follower of Jesus to place love for others before one’s own desires. Discipleship “is a free choice to live a life of ever-deepening self-surrender to love.” (Barbara Reid).
Who do you say that I am? If we move along in our journey as disciples of Jesus, we will discover different faces of Jesus and he will always surprise us. Sometimes he will challenge us, sometimes he will comfort us. At other times he will admonish us. But he will always be faithful and he will always be present in our lives. He will give us courage, strength and comfort to walk with our crosses every day, and he will nourish us on this journey through his presence in the Eucharist.
