24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 12, 2021

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Who do I say Jesus is and what does that mean for me?

Gospel: Mark 8:27–35

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”

But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.

He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.”

Music Meditations

Opening Prayer

From Sacred Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits:

Lord, when I fail to understand your ways, don’t lose hope in me. May I heed your call to ‘get behind you’ like a good disciple following the master… Strengthen me in times of suffering: may I patiently bear unavoidable suffering, as you did. May I believe that what I endure helps the suffering of the world.

Companions for the Journey

From Jude Siciliano, O.P. (First Impressions, 2000):

I was riding behind a shiny BMW recently, a sleek model of high-priced engineering. There was a bumper sticker on it that said, “Jesus is my co-pilot.” So what did that tell me? With Jesus as a co-pilot would this driver (and the gorgeous car) never get in an accident? Judging from the sticker this person was obviously a Christian. Was the implied message that if you believe in Jesus you will be successful? If I really believed, would life be prosperous and I too afford such a car? A bumper sticker might proclaim a person’s faith or even give the name of the congregation in which the car owner worships, but it doesn’t quite say it all. It doesn’t come anywhere near saying how the person-of-the-bumper-sticker lives his or her faith; what sacrifices are they willing to make for their beliefs? It takes a lot of faith to believe, as the Servant in the first reading professes, “the Lord God is my help, who will prove me wrong?” When we are trying to do the right things in Jesus’ name, we may get little recognition or popular acclaim. It’s even tougher to believe when following God’s ways puts us at odds with those around us. Isn’t God supposed to “bless” those who believe with visible signs of approval? It’s hard to find proof of that reward and assured success in today’s readings.

A twenty-seven-year-old woman recently made a serious life-altering decision. Though she had been raised by nominal Catholic parents and rarely went to church while in high school, she says she felt something “tugging at my soul.” So, while away at a state university, she started attending Sunday mass at the campus chapel. She was attracted by the dynamic pastoral team she met there, a priest, sister and lay minister. She loved the music, and the preaching she heard touched her, “I felt as if my soul was a parched desert and every time I went to church I found fresh water for my thirst”. At first her participation was on again, off again, but little by little, her faith life began to heat up. In her sophomore year she went with the pastoral team and 30 other students on a weekend retreat. That retreat was a turning point and it became the core experience out of which some important future decisions were made. After her graduation she got a job in a city far from home. First thing she did was to seek out a local church. Soon she became a volunteer religion teacher for the 4th Grade. The more she taught, the more she learned and the deeper became her commitment to faith and the parish community. She had been dating a young man for about a year and though he had many features she admired, she realized his ambitions were contrary to her values and he did not share her belief in Jesus and her commitment to her church community. She decided to end the relationship; she says she wants more in a potential life partner.

She was planning this Sunday’s religion class. This gospel was to be the focus of her class. “But it had a very personal meaning for me,” she said. “I see this gospel as an expression of my life. I have had to make a very painful decision. I had to deny myself a possible husband and a comfortable life. In some ways, I am ‘losing my life’ to follow Christ. But I really believe I will gain my life in the long run, not just in the after-life, but in this life as well. I believe my life will be deeper and richer because of the choices I am making. It’s just that it is a cross right now, because the decision to end my relationship with N. has been very painful. I feel very lonely and it hurts.”

Our life in faith will most likely run counter to the prevailing wisdom. Peter expresses that “wisdom”—no one should have to suffer. For the follower of Jesus, life should be smooth. If Jesus is who he says he is, all his followers should be in for a good time, royal positions and prestige. But Jesus will have none of that. To follow him is to run counter to the prevailing wisdom of our age. Just ask the young woman what the costs are. Ask the couple, married 35 years, who have spent so much energy to make their marriage work. Ask the business person who follows his/her principles even when it costs a quick profit. Ask the doctor who spends extra time to get to know her patients even though it will affect her bottom line. Ask the high school kid who stays friends with an unpopular classmate. Ask the repair person who takes care to really repair that copier, those brakes, or that sink—and who charges an honest fee for labors.

Jesus summons the crowd—all of us—to hear what he has to say. Are our ears open? He does not lay a guilt trip on them or us. He is not threatening us with God’s wrath if we don’t follow him… “Follow me; do as I say or you will all be destroyed!” Rather, the invitation is broadcast widely, like the sower of seeds (4:1-9). Anyone is invited to hear and follow him. “WHOEVER wishes to come after me…” There’s the free choice and also a clear statement of what it will cost, “deny self and take up your cross and follow me.”

Sounds like the cross will be particular to each person, “his cross, her cross.” Each of us is asked to make particular sacrifices, painful choices in our following Jesus. We ask ourselves during this liturgy and afterwards, “In my life, what choices are before me? What or who is my guide as I make these choices?” With [re-election, recall and voters’ rights] rhetoric heating up in this country, the choices we make for our elected officials may be for people who will protect our own vested interests. That would seem to be the prevailing “wisdom.” But maybe, we need a broader perspective. We may even have to choose ways that might not benefit us as much, but will help a group in more need with less political voice than we have.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

Get you behind me, Satan

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

  • If Jesus were to ask me “Who do you say that I am?”, how would I answer?
  • Do I see Jesus in those around me—in the poor, in annoying relatives or friends, in the neediness/greediness in every person I meet?
  • What does the word “Messiah” mean? (hint: in Hebrew it did not mean God)
    What did Jesus as Messiah model for Peter and the others?
  • Is it hard to hear when someone predicts bad fortune for himself or herself and I know they are right?
    How do I respond?
  • Another word for Satan is “tempter”. How was Peter tempting Jesus, even without realizing it?
    Have I ever been in a situation when someone tried to get me to live in denial about a reality I had to face?
  • Simon and Garfunkel wrote in a song; “a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest”.
    What did Peter want to hear from Jesus?
    What do I want to hear from Jesus?
  • Peter wanted to manage Jesus… Do I seek to limit the role Jesus has in my life, preferring to tell him what I want or need rather than to follow?
  • How does Jesus’ belief that death is not the end influence his actions?
    Do I think Jesus ever had any second thoughts?
    Do I believe, really believe, that death is not the end?
    How does my belief that death is not the end influence my actions?
  • Is there a redemptive role in suffering?
    What is the difference between suffering what fate or others causes for me and suffering that is self-inflicted?
    Should we seek to suffer?
  • When I feel weak, confused or adrift, do I experience God with me or absent?
    During those periods where do I turn for help?
  • Fr. Walter Burghardt, S.J. said in a homily long ago that he doesn’t “think” as much as he used to about who Jesus is—in other words theology has to move out of the head and into the heart, and then into all that we do. In what stage of my relationship to Jesus do I find myself (head, heart, or action)?
  • Adapted from Walter Burghardt, S.J.:
    “Who do you say that I am?” How do we Catholics answer?
    Here are three ways to explore answers to that question: (which is easiest; hardest?)
    Creed: What do we believe about Jesus?
    Cult: How we worship Jesus
    Code: How we live out the message of Jesus
  • Doing the right thing doesn’t guarantee we’ll succeed. It’s not about success, but about being faithful.
    But how can we be faithful when suffering is the price we sometimes must pay for doing what is right?
    What will keep us from yielding and turning in another direction?
  • Why do the good suffer?
    Where does God play out in our lives in terms of suffering?
  • What is our culture’s attitude toward suffering?
    What is my attitude?
  • When Jesus turns his attention from the crowds who follow him to instructing his personal followers and friends, his disciples, he has a sobering message: “Whoever wants to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.”
    How often do we avoid thinking about or dealing with this sentence in this gospel?
  • Does following Jesus involve any suffering/pain for people?
  • What life choices might be the hardest for people to make?
    Have I ever suffered or been penalized for doing what was right?
  • What part of my life might I have to “lose” to follow Jesus? Why?
  • If I were to ask Jesus “Who do you say I am?”, how do I think he would answer?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

Adapted from a publication called “Devotions for Lent with Mary Oliver”:

Start with this excerpt from “In Blackwater Woods”, and read it once a day for a week:

Every year everything I have ever learned in my lifetime leads back to this: the fires and the black river of loss whose other side is salvation, whose meaning none of us will ever know, To live in this world you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones Knowing your own life depends upon it; and, when the time comes to let it go, Let it go.

Then begin each day this week by lighting a candle of salvation, praying, “God of grace, help me to love what is mortal. Help me to hold on to what needs to be embraced, let go of what needs to be let go—and have the wisdom to know the difference.”

Experiment with a “letting go” fast this week, creating little sanctuaries of Sabbath time. Try fasting from technology for an hour, a day, or for the whole week; try fasting from conversations that keep you rooted in old grudges or crippling nostalgia; try fasting from mindless and repetitious chores, either manual or mental, that seem to keep you stuck.

Reach out to someone living an “all-in” life of service and thank them for their commitment and inspiration. Try to learn from them what motivates and sustains them try to learn from them ways that you can help. Get out of your “yourself-and-family-and-career” absorption rut.

On a beautiful piece of paper to save, using your most decorative handwriting and pens, make a list of what you need to embrace and release in order to love and live more fully. Put it where you will see it each day. Perhaps expand on these thoughts in personal prayer or in a personal journal this week.

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

From A Retreat with Thomas Merton by Anthony Padovano, p.10

MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore, will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

In his book Thoughts in Solitude Merton reveals that he is unsure about the journey, that he cannot see clearly ahead, that he does not know for certain where the journey will end or who he himself is.

When Merton wrote these words he had lived through seventeen years of monastic discipline and contemplative prayer as a Cistercian. It is helpful for us to reflect that if such a man could be confused or insecure, there is little reason to blame ourselves for our own perplexity.

Pause now and in silence consider these points: 1. To know the outcome of the journey is to trust God less. 2. If the Spirit leads us, the journey is not ours alone. 3. A journey of clarity and ease cannot reach a God of mystery and love. 4. The experience of uncertainty brings us closer to our companions on the journey. 5. No matter how unsettling the journey may be at times, God will not permit us to be lost.

Literary Reflection:

Does this poem by Father Michael Kennedy, SJ. from “First Impressions”, 2009, strike a chord?

“No, Of Course Not”
(24th Sunday ordinary time)
When they were Giving Jesus an update On the gossip about who The Master might be the Discussion ended when Peter Gave that great answer that He was clearly the Messiah And after smiles all around The mood changed after He said that the Son of Man would suffer and Be killed and rise After three days But it got worse After Peter opened his Mouth and began to rebuke The Master for suggesting That the vision put out There by the Lord was Too negative showing a Trait that continues to Plague believers today Since we do not want To deal with pain And suffering even Though we pay Lip service to it For if we were Honest we would admit We were not sure that This Guy was not kidding For we want to believe that He did not mean that stuff About suffering and death He couldn’t have could he? No, of course not

Closing Prayer

Adapted from the Irish Jesuits and Thomas Merton:

Lord, your question to the disciples echoes down the centuries, and I hear it now addressed to me. Strengthen the bonds between us. Help me to see you in the others around me. Keep me close behind you as I pick up the crosses and burdens that come from being your disciple.

[Think of one or more specific people who are carrying particular burdens right now and pray for God to help you lighten them.]

Help me to remember that you will never leave me to face my burdens alone.