Word to the Wise
Thursday, February 17, 2011 - Thursday in the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
[Genesis 9:1-13 and Mark 8:27-33]Along the way, [Jesus] 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.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2011 THURSDAY IN THE SIXTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME[Genesis 9:1-13 and Mark 8:27-33]
Along the way, [Jesus] 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.
The power of a good story (or drama) lies in its ability to bring us into the setting, events and lives of the characters. But we have to remember that even when we get into the story, our perspective is not the same as the characters'. We bring all our history and cultural and ethnic presumptions with us and our reactions are governed by those. Our presence is, of course, a product of the interaction of our imagination with the story, so we cannot influence the outcome. I recall as a youngster going to the Saturday movies and yelling with all the other kids in an effort to warn the cowboy hero of the bad guy creeping up on him from behind!
Remembering these things can help us to better understand the scriptures. The disciples of Jesus are not quite sure about Jesus' identity. Even Peter's response turns out to be mistaken!. (Read the whole story!). We who live 2,000+ years later find ourselves wondering why the disciples can't see Jesus the way we see Jesus. We also wonder why Jesus doesn't want Peter's response to be repeated!!
On one level, we need to remember that in Jesus' day, there was more than one person who claimed to be a "messiah!" They were usually put to death! The occupying Roman forces recognized only one "messiah" and that was Caesar! So, Jesus mission could be endangered if the title would be misunderstood. As it is, Peter misunderstands because he cannot imagine that the true messiah would suffer and be put to death by the Romans! On a second level, we have to realize that the story-teller has an agenda as well. Mark's gospel is designed to present Jesus' life and mission as being understood only after his death and resurrection. This is why the disciples often seem to be blind to what was happening right in front of them! We might wish the story were told in a different way, but that's our presumptions and agendas influencing us! No matter how loudly we yell, we can't change the action on the screen!
All of this is part of the complex picture that each of us in faith has of Jesus. We write our own story along with the bigger story of the Church. Jesus' question remains the same down through the centuries: "Who do you say that I am?" AMEN
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