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September 17, 2000
Twenty-fourth Sunday in
Ordinary Time (B)
Isa 50:5-9a; James
2:14-18; Mark 8:27-35
The
readings for this Sunday tell us that faith cannot be merely a matter of
words. Our faith must also be
put into action, even though it will lead to suffering and death.
This
theme is presented most directly in the reading from the letter of James.
The reading argues that faith without works is dead.
Having faith without works is like telling someone who has no
clothes or food to "keep warm, and eat well" without doing anything to
help them. Just as good
wishes for someone in need must be accompanied by material help, so faith
must be accompanied by works.
The
reading from the gospel according to Mark also makes this point. The reading says that Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do
people say that I am?" After they answered that question, Jesus asked,
"But who do you say that I am?" Peter
answered, "You are the Christ." Then
Jesus began to teach his disciples that he must suffer, be killed and rise
after three days. When Jesus
said this, Peter rebuked him. Then
Jesus rebuked Peter in return.
Peter
rebuked Jesus for at least two reasons.
First, Jesus' prediction that he would suffer, die and rise did
not conform to Peter's expectations of the Christ, or Messiah.
No doubt Peter thought the Messiah would save Israel through a
glorious exercise of power, and he viewed talk of suffering and death as
morbidity on Jesus' part.
We are
now familiar with the idea that Jesus saved through his death and
resurrection. But this was a
strange idea during the lifetime of Jesus, and is still less obvious than
we may first assume. This is
why Mark includes Jesus' command that the disciples not tell anyone
about him after Peter says that Jesus is the Christ.
Mark wants us to realize that not everyone recognizes Jesus as the
Christ. Our recognition of
Jesus as Christ is God's gift to us.
The
second reason Peter rebuked Jesus was that Peter realized the implication
of what Jesus had said. If
Jesus would suffer, die and rise, his followers would also need to do so.
It is not enough to say that Jesus is the Christ; this faith must
also be put into action by dying and rising with Jesus. After he rebuked Peter, Jesus said to the crowd and his
disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up
his cross, and follow me." Faith
in Jesus must be put into action, and it will lead to suffering and death.
Jesus
explains this as based on a paradox.
"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever
loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it."
This is opposite to what makes sense in ordinary human terms.
It is entirely understandable that Peter, or anyone else, reject
this kind of thinking. However,
to do so is to think "not as God does, but as human beings do."
In the
reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah, the servant of God speaks
about his faithfulness to God's word, even to the point of suffering.
God has opened the servant's ear so that he may hear.
Consequently, the servant says, "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." This
can be seen as a prophetic anticipation of the suffering of Jesus.
Seen in this way, it makes clear that Jesus himself put faith in
God into action by accepting suffering and death.
Terrance
Callan
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