Cycle B - Year I

13 September 2015: Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Liturgical color: Green)

Gospel: Mark 8:27-38


How deep is our faith?

Here is a story of a teacher and her math students. The teacher gave this surprise quiz: "There are five birds resting in a tree branch. You shoot one, how many are left?"

The students answer: "None, Teacher!" Astonished, the teacher asks back, "Why is that so, only one was shot?"

"Well, Mam, birds are not stupid. When one was shot, the rest flew away of course." End of the story.

Often, oral exam is very hard and tricky, because it gives little time to think for the right answer. But also it can elicit the smartest answer.

The Gospel narrative for this Sunday is like an oral exam for the followers of Jesus. On the way to the villages of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus tests his disciples  with a crucial question: "Who do people say that I am, and who do you say that I am?"

Always quick to react, Peter answers by professing that Jesus is truly the Christ. No mortal being

could have revealed this truth to Peter, but only God. It was through faith that Peter grasped who Jesus truly was. Thus, Peter has the distinction as the first apostle to recognize Jesus as the Anointed One (meaning, Messiah or Christ). "Christ" is the Greek word for the Hebrew word "Messiah". So, Peter "passed" easily his practical exam on our Lord's identity, through the gift of his faith.

The second part of the "exam" is the requirements or demands for following Jesus. It is here where Peter's profession of faith about the the identity of Jesus is sorely tested.

When Jesus explained that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and die in order that God's work of redemption may be accomplished, Peter reacted negatively. Peter could not accept that and would not allow Jesus to suffer. While he readily accepts Jesus as the Messiah, Peter does not want a suffering Messiah.

Jesus rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan!". Now, "satan" here is also a Hebrew word which means "accuser", the one who leads others away from the way of God. By calling Peter "Satan", our Lord does not allow anyone to lead Him away from His mission of saving mankind through the cross. In other words, Peter and the rest of the disciples must follow Jesus in His way, and not the other way around. And Jesus' way is through the Cross to Resurrection.

What do we make of the Gospel narrative for this Sunday?

The Lord Jesus tests each one of us personally today with the same question in our practical exam, "Who do you say that I am?"

We can be as quick as Peter in answering that Jesus is our Lord and Messiah. That is the easier part of discipleship.

But Jesus challenges us to go deeper into the very roots of our faith through personal commitment in our faith. That means, we must witness with our life situations our profession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah. This means accepting and following His way of suffering as our own way of life. Only then can we truly prove ourselves to be his disciples, and so merit to share as well in our Lord's resurrection at the appointed time.

As we reflect on the Gospel message this Sunday, what prevents us today from recognizing and following the Messiah in Jesus?

Let us pray: "Lord Jesus, I profess and believe that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. You are my Lord and Savior. Make my faith strong and help me to live in the victory of the cross by rejecting sin and by accepting Your will for me. Amen."

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.


Ad Jesum per Mariam!