Word to the Wise
Friday, September 23, 2022 - Friday in the 25th Week in Ordinary Time
[Eccl/Qoh 3:1-11 and Luke 9:18-22]Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" They said in reply, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, 'One of the ancient prophets has arisen.'" Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said in reply, "The Christ of God." He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone. He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised." [Luke]
SEPTEMBER 23 ST. PIUS OF PIETRALCINA, ofmcap [Padre Pio]
The Gospel According to Luke "softens" this scene because he omits Peter's protest against Jesus' prediction of his (Jesus') fate and accuses him (Peter) of thinking not as God does but as humans do! But we humans have our own agendas and Peter's agenda did not allow for the kind of fate that Jesus would meet. Peter would not be alone. The disciples were amazed and discouraged when Jesus was arrested and executed. It took Jesus' resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit to turn them around! Even with their preaching, however, the question Jesus asked - "Who do the crowds say that I am?" - would persist and be debated as the church continued to expand through missionary preaching. The Council of Chalcedon in the 5th century had to settle questions about Jesus' human and divine nature!
Even with what we recite every Sunday in the Nicene Creed, it can be an interesting experience to have a group of people each respond to Jesus' question: "Who do YOU say that I am?" Is our response a recitation of catechism formulas or is it a personal one? Some of our Protestant friends would ask the question, "Have you accepted Jesus as your personal savior?" We Catholics might be more universal and speak in terms of the Body of Christ, of which we are members and for whom he died and rose and sent the Holy Spirit. A good reading of the New Testament will show many "agendas" about Jesus. The study of the history of theology will show others. And each of us still has to (or already have) answer the question: "Who do you say that I am?" AMEN