Word to the Wise
Sunday, September 17, 2006 - 24TH Sunday in Ordinary Time
[Isaiah 50:5-9A; James 2:14-18; Mark 8:27-35]Who do you say that I am?
Jesus gives the disciples what amounts to an ultimate "pop quiz." He has been with them awhile and now he needs to gauge the reaction of the public and of his closest followers. It is clear that the public is all over the place in figuring out who Jesus really is. Some say this. Some say that! Jesus then asks the disciples, his closest followers, the same question. Who do you say that I am? Peter gives the appropriate answer, but for the wrong reasons! As soon as Jesus begins to talk about suffering, rejection and death, Peter says, "No, that's not what I had in mind!" Jesus has to teach them again and again who he is, and they really won't "get it" till after the resurrection in the Gospel of Mark. I'm not all that certain that subsequent generations have done much better than the original disciples. So much has been done, both good and evil, in the name of Jesus Christ, that one should not be surprised that folks are confused - even the closest followers - as to who Jesus really is. Even the name, Jesus CHRIST, is one that the public bestowed after the resurrection. Before that event, he was Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth! Jesus clearly identifies himself with the "Suffering Servant," a mysterious figure in the prophecy of Isaiah. The first reading today is taken from one of several references to this figure in that prophecy. But, this identification is still one of many ways in which Jesus is depicted in the rest of the New Testament and in the rest of Christian history. So the question continues to be asked: Who do you say that I am? Our own response to that question will make all the difference in the world. AMEN
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