You Are the Christ

                            24^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                           B cycle

 

         

In this Sunday’s first reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah the speaker is the famous suffering servant who has always been identified with Jesus.

 

I gave my back to those who beat me,

My cheeks to those who plucked my beard;

My face I did not shield

From buffets and spitting. 

 

Isaiah’s account of the suffering servant serves as an introduction to today’s gospel. It has always been believed that the evangelist Mark was a protégé of St. Peter who plays a prominent role in today’s account. Mark was not present and it is possible that his account is based on Peter’s remembrance. Walking along to the villages of the area of Caesarea Philippi, our Lord engages in conversation and asks his disciples for some feedback. “Who do people say that I am?”, he asks. They mention some names they have heard but then Jesus asks what they think?

 

It is Peter who replies, “You are the Christ.” They must have been shocked when Jesus then explains that his mission is to suffer and be killed, and then rise after three days. Peter can’t believe it and rebukes Jesus. Rebuke was a very strong word in those days. It’s like a Marine sergeant dressing down a new recruit. But Jesus rebukes Peter. “Get behind me Satan,” meaning, get out of my way.

 

Today people like to think of Jesus as a wise and good man who performed many good works. Even non-Christians regard him as one of the greatest men in history. However, he made it clear that that is not what he is. He is the Christ who has come to give his life for the world. Not only that, Jesus insisted that our mission was like his.

 

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,

Take up his cross, and follow me.”

 

What does it mean to take up one’s cross? A few years ago, I attended a funeral service in a local Baptist church. The small church was packed for the deceased woman had made many friends in her 58 years. There were traditional hymns and beautiful scripture readings and then the pastor gave a very fine sermon. He noted the woman’s extraordinary life of service to others, and even wondered if her own life had been shortened by her lack of concern for her own well-being. 

 

The pastor then reminded the congregation that despite all of the woman’s good works, it was not those works that had merited her salvation. It is Jesus who saves and it was the woman’s belief in Jesus that saved her. I thought to myself that I am in a Catholic church for the pastor was preaching traditional Catholic doctrine although religious propaganda wars have tended to exaggerate the differences between Catholics and Protestants on the importance of faith and good works. 

 

But who is a believer? At one point in the gospels Jesus said that not everyone who says, Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. At another point, he told the story of the man who asked his two sons to work in the family vineyard. One said “yes” but never showed up. The other initially said “no”, but then changed his mind and did the work. Which one was the believer? Isn’t it obvious that it was the one who did the work.

 

That is the message of today’s second reading from the letter of St. James. No one knew Jesus better than the Apostle James. Scholars identify him with the James who was present at the Lord’s Transfiguration, who became the first Bishop of Jerusalem, and then died a martyr’s death. Here is the wisdom of James.

 

What good is it, my brothers and sisters,

If someone says he has faith but does not have works?

Can that faith save him?...

Indeed someone might say,

“You have faith and I have works.”

Demonstrate your faith to me without works,

And I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.

 

The woman commemorated in the Baptist church dedicated her life to the service of others. She demonstrated her faith through her works. How is it possible for billions of people in China to be saved if they have never even heard the name of Jesus? Isn’t it possible today that many people who think they have rejected Jesus are even doing his work and bearing his cross in their daily lives? So, there really is no separation between faith and good works. They are not opposed. Taking up your cross and bearing it is the work of faith. 

 

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Reading 1.  Isaiah 50: 4c-9a

Reading II. James 2: 14-18

Gospel. Mark 8: 27-35 (Get behind me, Satan)

The Deaf and Dumb Man

                       23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

                 

 

       

The passage in today’s first reading from the prophet Isaiah has naturally been taken to point to the work of Jesus. Isaiah foresees the signs of the coming of the Lord.

 

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,

The ears of the deaf be cleared;

Then will the lame leap like a stag,

Then the tongue of the mute will sing.

 

Of course, we know that Jesus did all of these things. He gave sight to the blind man. He told the paralytic to take up his mat and walk. And, in today’s gospel, we see that he cleared the ears of the deaf man, and enabled him to speak for the first time. In this passage we see Jesus in his role of healer. 

 

What was the occupation of Jesus? We know that people referred to him as the carpenter’s son, and we assume that he learned and practiced the trade of Joseph as a young man. We know that his disciples called him a rabbi or teacher, and no matter what your belief, you would have to admit that Jesus was one of the greatest teachers of all time. Yet, in today’s reading we see him as a healer or physician.

 

Mark relates that some people approached Jesus and asked him to heal a man who could neither hear nor speak. Actually, they asked him to lay his hands upon the man, a traditional method used at the time to cure the sick. It might be instructive to pay close attention to what Jesus did.

 

First, he put his fingers into the man’s ears, and then then apparently spit on the man’s tongue. To us, spitting might seem distasteful, but scholars tell us that it was not unusual for Greek and Hebrew physicians to employ spittle in their attempts to heal. Then, Jesus looked up to heaven and groaned, and uttered the command, “ephphatha” which Mark tells us means “be opened.” The result was miraculous. The man immediately began to hear and speak plainly.

 

We can only guess at why Jesus went through this procedure. You would think that he just could have done it with a word or a thought. Maybe, there is a lesson for us all in his way of healing. He seems to act as a conduit or connector between God and the deaf man. He puts his fingers in his ears as if he was putting cables on a dead car battery. Then, he looks to heaven as if to turn on the engine that will charge the battery. The power surges through Him into the man and he comes to life.

 

I am not offering this as a scientific or theological explanation of the healing. No one can really explain a cure like this one. Nevertheless, there is a good analogy here. We are all asked to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. We are all asked to be healers. We are all asked to be involved or “hands on’ healers, and not just distant well wishers. We are all asked to be the conduit through which divine grace or power can flow through to those in need of healing.

 

Sometimes those in need around us seem like hard cases beyond repair. But in today’s second reading St. James tells us not to just take the easy cases but to be a means by which God’s grace can reach those in most need. The rich with gold rings and fine clothes do not need our care and attention. We must be just as attentive to the poor in both body and soul. Just as Jesus cured the poor deaf and dumb man, James tells us not to make distinctions of persons.

 

I love the animal stories of James Herriot, the famous British veterinarian, who spent his life caring for thousands of farm and domestic animals in rural Yorkshire. Herriot must have had plenty of ordinary cases but the stories he tells in his books are about those animals most in need of care. He treated them all, the healthy and the weak, with equal care and compassion. He came to realize that each animal had a value no matter the wealth or status of the owner. In his books Herriot used this little poem that obviously meant a lot to him.

 

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small, 

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

 

It would be great if we could follow Herriot’s example in dealing with those we encounter every day in our ordinary lives.

 

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Reading 1.  Isaiah 35: 4-7a

Reading II. James 2: 1-5

Gospel. Mark 7: 31-37 (Ephphatha—Be Opened)

My Yoke is Easy

                       22^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

                    

 

       

In today’s first reading Moses commands the people of Israel to observe the statutes and decrees of the Lord. He says,

 

Observe them carefully,

for thus will you give evidence 

of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations, 

who will hear of all these statutes and say

‘This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.’

 

We live in a world today where people do not like rules and regulations. In many cases this attitude springs from our love of liberty and self-determination. But it can also happen that rules and regulations become outmoded and fail to achieve their original purpose. A respect for custom and tradition can be a good thing but sometimes we can take it to extremes.

 

The Pharisees and scribes made up a small percentage of the Jewish population but Jesus singled them out for most of his criticism. Not only were they noted for their slavish devotion to all the precepts of the Law, but also they were quick to criticize those who did not measure up to their high standards. Time and time again Jesus rebukes them for laying heavy, even impossible burdens on people.

 

In today’s gospel the Pharisees had criticized the disciples of Jesus for not washing their hands before eating in that same way that parents today might criticize their own children. Now, there is nothing wrong with washing before meals. It is what Jesus called a human precept or tradition. It serves a very basic sanitary purpose but it is not a divine command.

 

Moreover, when the Pharisees measured themselves and others by their adherence to such rules and rituals, they ignored much more important things. Jesus called them hypocrites: they said one thing but did another. He quoted the prophet Isaiah:

 

This people honors me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me;

in vain do they worship me,

teaching as doctrines human precepts.

 

The Pharisees are still with us today. Indeed, we can say that we all have some Pharisee within us. Just the fact that it is so easy to judge other people is a sign. Jesus told us “to judge not, that you may not be judged,” but that does not stop us from judging. How often do we blame or criticize others when we don’t know the whole story or both sides of the issue?

 

We Catholics are especially prone to elevating human precepts and traditions into divine commandments. We tend to think that the prayers and rituals of our childhood are the only way to worship. It is hard for us to understand that as times change, even beautiful devotions can become obsolete. We rightfully fill our churches with beautiful paintings and statues but not only can they become outmoded but also our devotion to them can obscure their real purpose.

 

We can follow all the rules and regulations but what good does it do if from our hearts “come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, and folly?”

 

Jesus gave very few commands and said that his yoke was easy and his burden light. About worship, he offered thanks and gave us his flesh and blood on Calvary and in the Mass, which he told us to do in memory of Him. His simple commands were to love God, and one another: a love that meant serving one another.

 

In today’s second reading, the Apostle James, one of his closest followers, gave the definition of true religion.

 

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this:

to care for orphans and widows in their affliction

and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

 

 

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Reading 1.  Deuteronomy 4: 1-2, 6-8

Reading II. James 1: 17-18, 21b -22, 27

Gospel. Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23 (All these evils come from within)

To Whom Shall We Go?

                      21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

                      B cycle

 

       

In today’s first reading Joshua, the successor of Moses, presents the people of Israel with a choice. 

 

If it does not please you to serve the Lord,

Decide today whom you will serve,

The gods your fathers served beyond the River

Or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now dwelling.

 

Today, Joshua might have included the gods of the Americans that we are all being asked to serve. We may not think of them as gods in the traditional sense but we are being tempted every day to turn away from the Lord and our values in the service of things that are strange and alien. Just like the people in Joshua’s time, we have to make a very important choice. 

 

In today’s gospel reading Jesus also presents his followers with a choice. This year most of the gospel readings are from the Gospel of Mark. But since that gospel is so short, the Church supplements it with the long passage from the Gospel of John that is often called the “bread of life” discourse. It seems like all summer Jesus has been talking about the living bread that will give eternal life, and not just food for a day.

 

In last week’s gospel Jesus had said,

 

Amen, amen, I say to you,

Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood

You do not have life within you….

Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,

Whoever eats this bread will live forever.

 

These words, coming right before the start of today’s gospel passage, were the ones the disciples found so shocking. This was the saying they murmured about. They said, “this saying is hard, who can accept it?” The disciples have not been the only ones to find this saying hard to believe. Not only is it hard to believe that Jesus would give his body and blood for us on the Cross, but also it is hard to believe that right before his Passion, he would give us his body and blood in the Eucharist.

 

So today while so many people are coming to the Eucharist all over the world and sometimes even being persecuted for their belief, many are turning away because it is hard. Also, all that goes with it is hard to accept. 

 

One of the things that many find hard to accept is the passage from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians that we heard today about husbands and wives. How are we to understand this reading especially that controversial passage where St. Paul says, "Wives, be subordinate to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord." 

 

We could say that Paul, like so many of his contemporaries, was a "sexist" who thought that women were second-class citizens. You could also say that since Paul never married, he knew nothing about the actual relationship of a man and a woman in marriage or the way they would arrange responsibility in a household even then.

 

However, you could also say that Paul was dealing in this section with a very practical problem that had arisen in the early Christian churches, especially among the Gentiles. It would appear that the new faith was especially attractive to women. Scholars tell us that in pagan families it was often the woman who first converted to Christianity, and then subsequently brought their husbands and families into the fold. This is not unusual even in our time.

 

However, there were cases where the husband would not convert, and women in this situation wondered what to do. Should they stay with their pagan husbands or should they leave? Paul always urges them to remain faithful to their marriage vows. He knew that there was no social safety net for these women outside of marriage but he also argued that they would be better able to bring their husbands and families to believe by remaining married.

 

Finally, I think you could say that St. Paul is preaching a revolutionary new doctrine here. Let's concentrate on his advice to the men. "Husbands, love your wives." It is hard for us to realize that in the ancient world, love of a husband for his wife was not the ideal. Our idea of a young couple falling in love and dedicating their whole lives to one another was an alien idea in the ancient world. At that time and for centuries after marriages were arranged between families. A young woman or girl might only meet her future husband, often an older man, for the first time at their engagement. A woman was little more than a childbearing machine. If she could not bear children, her husband was obligated to divorce her. As far as romantic feeling or sexual pleasure was concerned, a man usually found that outside of the bonds of matrimony.

 

Despite today's popular opinion, Christianity elevated the role of women not only in society but also in the eyes of her husband. St. Paul understood the teaching of Christ to mean that Christian men must give up their whole lives for their wives and families, a rare thing in any time. Today, one would have to be blind not to see that so many men have given up on even the thought of marriage and the self-sacrificing love it demands.

 

Despite our material wealth and possessions we all, young and old, male and female, will still have to face a choice similar to that faced by the Israelites in the desert at the time of Moses, or the disciples in the time of Jesus. Who or what will we serve? Who or what will we pledge our allegiance to? 

 

Joshua said, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” When many of the disciples left Jesus and turned their backs on the bread of life, He asked the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?”

 

St. Peter’s response is a guide for all of us:

 

Master, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life.

 

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Reading 1.  Joshua 24: 1-2a, 15-17, 18b

Reading II. Ephesians 5: 21-32

Gospel. John 6: 60-69 (to whom shall we go?)