Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
I have titled my homily, “The Good, The Bad, and The Paradox.’ As I read today’s gospel, I see three parts. The first part goes really well. The second half goes really bad. In the third part, we have a paradox. In my three points for today’s homily, I would like to focus on “the good, the bad, and the paradox”.
The Good - Faith Confession
Let me begin with the part that goes well. First, it is important to know that Mk 8:27-35 (today’s gospel) is the central section in the gospel of Mark. Everything up until now in Mark’s story leads up to this passage and everything from here on will follow from this passage. This is because in this section, Jesus is revealed as the Messiah to the disciples. In Mark’s gospel, Jesus chose his disciples in the very first chapter. Andrew and Peter, James and John, had abandoned their nets to follow him. Meanwhile, In Chapter 3, Mark says that Jesus appointed the Twelve, “That they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach (Mk 3:14) Now we are in Chapter 8 and Jesus will reveal himself as the Messiah to his disciples.
The way Mark accomplishes this to have Jesus ask his disciples who they thought he is. Having “been with him” and accompanied him from Chapter 1-7, Peter answered Jesus’ saying, “You are the Christ” (Mk 8:29). It was the perfect answer. The disciples have done well..
Many of us began our journey of following Christ at our baptism. We were children when we were first introduced to faith in Jesus Christ. Then we made our First Communion, then we were Confirmed, and today here we are. We are here at Mass because we believe and confess like Peter, that Jesus is the Christ. Many others have fallen away. But we are still following Christ. Like the disciples, we too have done well. This is the good part of our story.
The Bad – Distorted Faith
The second half does not go too well for Peter and the disciples. The problem was not faith in Christ. The problem was the kind of Christ they believed in. After Peter confessed Jesus as “the Christ,” Jesus began to reveal the kind of Messiah he was. He said, “The 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” (Mk 8:31). The disciples were absolute shock. So much so, that Peter, who was to follow Jesus, rebuked him. The disciples had come to recognize Jesus as the Messiah but not the kind of Messiah he was. The Messiah they thought they were following was a political messiah, a worldly Messiah, a triumphant messiah. Jesus was a different kind of Messiah – the suffering Messiah.
Jesus’ response to Peter is the crux of discipleship. Jesus said, "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” (Mk 8:35-36).
Coming to faith in Jesus, making First Holy Communion, being Confirmed, coming to Mass every Sunday, persevering as a Christian is the easy part. But denying ourselves, taking up the cross daily, losing our lives for the sake of the gospel – that is the hard part. Standing up for what Jesus stood up for – endless mercy, infinite compassion, boundless love, unlimited forgiveness – that is the hard part. Treating even enemies as neighbor, being peacemakers, not retaliating, bring meek and humble, being clean of heart, being selfless, giving beyond measure – that is the hard part.
Whether we are doing well, doing moderately, or badly l in this regard is something we must evaluate for ourselves. Confessing Christ is one part of our faith. Confessing faith in the kind of Christ Jesus wants us to follow is another dimension of our faith.
Like Peter, we don’t tell Jesus the kind of Messiah he must be. Jesus tells us what kind of followers we are to be.
The Paradox – The Cross
The paradox of Jesus’ redeeming mission emerges from the cross. It was central to Christ’s ministry, it is central to the gospel, and it is central to Christian discipleship. The world looks different from the cross. From the cross, that which the world determines as good and successful are obstacles for the cross. From the cross, to live is to die and to die to self is to live. This is the paradox. From the cross it not about wealth and fame, power and domination, greed and self-preservation. From the cross it is about love and mercy, goodness and forgiveness, selflessness and servanthood, denying oneself, taking up the cross, and laying down one’s life for the sake of the gospel.
Peter had much to learn. He had taken Jesus aside to rebuke him. But he had to learn to look at life from the cross. So, Jesus took him aside and said, “Get behind me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human being do” (Mk 8:32). Peter must learn to look at life from the cross and not as the world does.
The practical implication of today’s gospel is immense. Our faith is the good part of our lives. Today though, the gospel invites us to reflect upon the kind of Jesus we believe in, the kind of faith we hold, the kind of action that bears witness to our faith. The readings invite us to reflect on the kind of followers of Christ we are. Are we like Peter inclined to take Jesus aside? Or do we allow Jesus to lead us even though He leads us to the cross?
As James says, faith and action must go hand in hand. As he says, “…faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:14-16). May our faith and action match. May our lives bear witness to the paradox of the cross. Then our confession of Jesus as “the Christ” will not only have meaning, but also lead to redemption.
- Fr. Satish Joseph