Who Do You Say That I Am?

24th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle B

September 13th, 2009

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Who Do You Say That I Am?

Reading 1
Is 50:5-9a

The Lord GOD opens my ear that I may hear;
and I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
my face I did not shield
from buffets and spitting.

The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
He is near who upholds my right;
if anyone wishes to oppose me,
let us appear together.
Who disputes my right?
Let that man confront me.
See, the Lord GOD is my help;
who will prove me wrong?

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 116:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

R. (9)I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
Alleluia.
I love the LORD because he has heard
my voice in supplication,
Because he has inclined his ear to me
the day I called.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
Alleluia.
The cords of death encompassed me;
the snares of the netherworld seized upon me;
I fell into distress and sorrow,
And I called upon the name of the LORD,
“O LORD, save my life!”
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
Alleluia.
Gracious is the LORD and just;
yes, our God is merciful.
The LORD keeps the little ones;
I was brought low, and he saved me.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
Alleluia.
For he has freed my soul from death,
my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
I shall walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.
R. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.
or: Alleluia.

Reading II
Jas 2:14-18

What good is it, my brothers and sisters,
if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can that faith save him?
If a brother or sister has nothing to wear
and has no food for the day,
and one of you says to them,
“Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well, ”
but you do not give them the necessities of the body,
what good is it?
So also faith of itself,
if it does not have works, is dead.

Indeed someone might say,
“You have faith and I have works.”
Demonstrate your faith to me without works,
and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.

Gospel
Mk 8:27-35

Jesus and his disciples set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that I am?”
They said in reply,
“John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets.”
And he asked them,
“But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said to him in reply,
“You are the Christ.”
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the gospel will save it.”

That morning they set out again with him, as they were now accustomed to doing. It had become a regular pattern in their lives; the had become quite settled in his company. It was nice, it was pleasant; sufficient to eat, taxes paid, respect, and a good reception almost everywhere. A miracle here, a wonder there, signs of greater things to come, basking in his glory, interesting conversation, beautiful stories, thrilling discussions, plenty of self-expression. They never had been so contented during all their lives; they never had had it so good.

As far as they were concerned, it just might last forever and ever. They seriously started to consider making following him a second career. When he turned to them, asking “Who do people say I am?” there was no hesitation. They gave him an honest answer – though they ought to have known better – they answered: “Some say John the Baptizer, others Elijah, and again others one of the prophets.” When he asked them again: “And who do you say I am?” they looked at one another, looked at Peter, then gave Peter a wink to say he should tell him, and Peter said: “You are the Messiah!”

That is what he said. That is what they thought he was. “The promised one, who will march the whole of the people toward glory and victory, and we will be there in front of you, you bet!” Peter did not say that, but it’s what they thought. He now turned to them and told them they were right, but that the people were right too. He was the Messiah, as they thought. He was also a prophet, as the people intuited. He would be treated as a prophet, though Messiah. And he told them how he would be rejected by the elders, chief priests, scribes, and finally by his own people, as all the prophets and prophetesses had been in the past. He explained how he would suffer, be tortured and beaten, humiliated and spat at, naked and raw, crucified and murdered. Though, he added, he would rise three days later.

Again they looked at one another, at Peter, they gave him a wink, and this time Peter took him apart to tell him that they did not agree, that this should not happen, neither to him nor to them. Peter said: “Forget about those prophets. Forget about what the people say. Forget those ideas; be glorious, be victorious, be the Messiah, be the one we think you are!”

He turned against Peter, he turned against them, and he said: “Satan, get behind me, follow me!” Then he called all the people together. He told them that they were right. He told them they couldn’t be his followers without understanding that they would have to take up their crosses, as all the prophets had done and he was going to do, going to Jerusalem. He told them they would have to forget about their own lives, if they wanted to save them. He told them: “If a person wishes to come after me, he must disown himself, carry the cross, and walk in my footsteps. Whoever tries to save his life, will lose it, while he who loses his life for me and the gospel, will save it.” He asked them to be prophets.

But wait a minute. They should have known every fiber of his being, how he preached, his favorite time of the day, where he prayed at and how he prayed, his favorite wine, his favorite song (oh you didn’t think that they sang songs back then? Sure did folks, songs of praise or what some call the psalms. Might even have made up their own songs. Don’t we?) They should have known where his stand on social issues – like the right to life, poverty, homelessness, the blind, the crippled, the plight of the widows, and the treatment of children.

They should have known about the corruption going on around them, just like the corruption going on around us these days in this pitiful country of ours by our pitiful government so called leaders. For quite possibly they do not know who Jesus is. Because if they indeed did, we wouldn’t be engulfed in the most moral decay that you or I have ever known. Certainly they don’t seem to be picking up their crosses, but instead to laying us down with more and more crosses. Certainly they are not denying their selves, but denying the people of this country. It’s really too bad that they do not know who Jesus is! In time, in God’s time, they certainly will find out don’t you think?

I hope that this message was meaningful to you and I wish you a great week ahead. If you scroll down the page, we have a video for you. God bless all of you and thank you for stopping by.

September 12, 2009