Who is Jesus to us and who are we to him?

Homily for Ordinary Time – 24th Sunday Year B 2015

Isaiah 50:5-9; James 2:14-18; Mark 8:27-35

Introduction

“Who do people say that I am?”  That's what Jesus asks his disciples.

There's a story about a priest, who had just taken up an assignment as pastor and he wanted to know what the parishioners thought about him.  One day, while at the neighbourhood convenience store, he saw some parishioners.  He asked them to tell him honestly how he was doing as their pastor.  One of the ladies then gave it to him straight: that he was impatient, unavailable, gave long boring homilies and did not have the best altar-side manners.  Naturally, the priest was quite disappointed to hear that this what people were thinking about him.

But as he was leaving, another parishioner who had overheard the whole conversation, pulled him aside and tried to console him saying: "Father, don't pay attention to that woman; she doesn't know what she is saying.  She only repeats what she hears other people saying."

Scripture and Theology

Fortunately for Jesus, when he asks what people say about him, the answers are quite flattering.  Some thought that he was John the Baptist, others that he was Elijah, and others still thought that he was one of the Old Testament prophets.  To be compared with the prophets was quite an honour; for prophets were held in high regard.

And yet as flattering as calling Jesus a prophet is, this answer is not accurate.  Yes, he teaches the Word of God like the prophets did; he condemns sinful life like the prophets Amos and Hosea did; and he gives hope for the future like the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah did.  Even Islam, for example, also honours Jesus with his mother Mary.  In fact, with Abraham and Moses, Jesus is considered to be one of the prophets who preceded Mohammed, the last prophet.

Jesus is far more than a prophet.  That is why he turns to the disciples, who should know him better, and asks: "But who do you say that I am?" Peter gives a much better answer when he says: "You are the Christ.”  Jesus is not simply a prophet; he is the Christ, who comes to save human beings from eternal death.

But even the Twelve disciples don't fully understand what it means that Jesus is the Christ.  They are excited to learn that their Master was not just another rabbi; he was the Messiah, the Saviour of the world!  And as part of his inner circle, perhaps they would now be moving into a palace, getting important jobs, power and wealth.  What a great future awaited them!

But then Jesus pours cold water on these hopes.  He explains that as the Christ, he "must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days."  This is too much for Peter to stomach.  A suffering Christ does not fit his perception of the Messiah.  So he tries to persuade Jesus to abandon this path of suffering.  That is why Jesus is rather stern with Peter and in front of everybody tells him off: “Get behind me, Satan.  You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”  And so even though Peter's answer, that Jesus is the Christ, improved upon the idea that Jesus was a prophet, he still does not understand fully who Jesus really is. 

Christian Life

Now before we turn up our noses at Peter and the others for not understanding fully who Jesus was, we must think about what answer we would give, if Jesus asked us: "But you, you Catholics of today, who do you say that I am?"

The Jews looked to their history in the Old Testament, to understand who Jesus was; that is why they said that he was a prophet.  Today, we might fall back on the figures of our culture, to understand who Jesus is.

• Who do people today say that Jesus is?  Reading some of the secular media today, you would think that Jesus was just a superhero like Superman or Batman or Spiderman.  After all, don't the gospels speak about him as working miracles and fighting against the Evil one?  He brings people back to life; he heals the sick and he feeds crowds with free food.

• Who do people today say that Jesus is?  When you hear what some people about Jesus on Television and radio, you would think that he was just another wise teacher like Ghandi or Confucius or any of our celebrity TV presenters today such as Dr. Phil.

• Who do people today say that Jesus is?  Unfortunately some people still think that Jesus is the bogeyman, the one who is coming to condemn them and punish them for every wrong they have done.

These answers are not entirely wrong; they contain some truth about Jesus.

·        Yes, Jesus is a kind of superhero.  After all he is not just a human being; he is also God, who cares for and protects the world.

·        Yes, Jesus is a great teacher.  Consider all his great parables, his sermons and his parting words at the Last Supper!

·        Yes, Jesus like the bogeyman must be respected, even feared.  When we reject his teaching, such as when we fail to care for others or when we scandalize the little ones in their faith, he promises that his punishment will be as swift as it will be sure.

But we cannot reduce Jesus to any one of these answers.  All of them fail to give us the whole picture.

It is like the story of the six blind men who came upon an elephant and tried to figure out what this animal was.

• The FIRST blind man happened to touch the elephant's broad side; he concluded that the Elephant is like a wall!

• The SECOND, felt the round, smooth and sharp tusk; he concluded that the Elephant is like a spear!

• The THIRD blind man happened to touch the long trunk; he concluded that the Elephant is like a snake!

• The FOURTH blind man felt the knee and said: "the Elephant is like a tree!”

• The FIFTH, who chanced to touch the ear cried out: "the Elephant is like a fan!"

• The SIXTH blind man happened to seize the swinging tail and said: “the Elephant is like a rope!”

Unfortunately, because they each had only a limited angle of the animal, none of them really described what an elephant truly is.

Conclusion

Who do we say that Jesus is?  A superhero?  A great teacher?  The bogeyman?

We have to realize that whatever answers we give, like the six blind men, like the crowds who followed Jesus, even like Peter, they don't truly describe Jesus.  We must turn to the answer Jesus himself gave us in the gospel and one we shall profess shortly in the Creed.  He is the Christ, sent from God, born of a virgin, rejected by the religious leaders; he is one who suffered, died on the cross, rose on the third day and ascended to heaven, where he sits at the right hand of the Father for eternity.  He is what stands between us and eternal hell.

And yet, as important as saying who Jesus is, perhaps equally important is the question: "Who does Jesus say that I am?"  And for this second question, Jesus also suggests an answer.  He says: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me."

Is that who Jesus is to us? Is that who we are to Jesus?