Readings: Isaiah 50:5-9; Psalm 115; James 2:14-18; Mark 8:27-35
Grace and peace to you dear family of God’s people. Today’s Gospel is one of those where we don’t even know where to begin.
After prayerful reflection, I would like to share three messages with us.
WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?
For us to understand what happened in today’s Gospel, it is important to first pay attention to where it happened. Jesus asks His disciples who people say He is in a place called Caesarea Philippi. This is significant because of the nature of the place.
Caesarea Philippi was a city that Philip built in honour of Caesar. Herod erected a great temple there for the worship of Caesar, who was called a son of god and the saviour of the world. Caesarea Philippi was a centre of idolatry. It was called Paneas previously, because it was the centre of the worship of Pan- the, the Greek god of nature, flocks, shepherds and agriculture – a god that was half human, half goat and played the flute.
It was right here that Jesus asked these two questions:
I. Who do people say I am?
The world gave opinions about Jesus – he is John the Baptist, Elijah or one of the Prophets.
These were high opinions but they fall short of the truth. We are reminded here that truth is not a matter of public opinion. Truth is not what people are saying but what God is saying.
We are warned here against rumour. Many of us rule our lives and judge others based on rumour (what people/someone said) which may be wrong.
II. Who do you say I am?
Jesus moves beyond public opinion, to asking the disciples who they think He is.
They needed to speak for themselves. A time comes when we have to make our own confession, when we have to own our faith and testimony. Many of us are still relying on what we have read, taught or heard. Our faith in God is not yet personal – we are Catholics by inheritance not by conviction, Christians by default not by encounter and decision. We believe what we have heard about Jesus but have not come to know Jesus for ourselves. Unless we know Him for ourselves, our faith is not standing on a solid rock.
This text also challenges me with the fact that a point that comes when it will no longer be about us or them, not about other people but about me, not about family faith, virtues, piety, conduct but about mine, when I will need to answer for myself. Perhaps this is why when we recite the creed, it is not we believe but I believe.
Remember what I said about the location? Peter confessed in the land of Caesar, in the city of paganism that Jesus is the Christ, the True Son of God, the Saviour of the world, that He is Our only redeemer, that He is the chosen.
Dear friends, it is easier to confess Jesus in the midst of our believing friends, on a Sunday morning, in the assembly of Church people, but can we confess that Jesus is Our Lord when surrounded by people who do not believe in or love Him, when on our sick bed, when we have just lost someone, when in the middle of the storm, when all is not well?
TRUSTING WHEN IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE
After Peter made his confession, according to Matthew 16:16-18, he received excellent praise but no sooner than he was praised then he was rebuked. Jesus the Messiah, started talking about His rejection, suffering and death. Don’t blame Peter – he was upset that Jesus said He would die. They had just confessed Him as the Messiah, they had left everything and followed Him – He couldn’t die on them like that. Peter took Jesus aside and began to “correct” Him. Peter didn’t agree with what Jesus was saying and was planning to do.
Peter didn’t want Jesus to be rejected, to suffer or die but that’s what Jesus came for; that’s the only way that you and I, including Peter, would be saved. Peter didn’t understand that. At that point, Peter had put his will, emotion and thoughts above God’s. He ended up saying the wrong thing; the devil tried to use him to get to Jesus. Hence Peter earned a hot rebuke.
Dear friends, there are times when we will not understand God and He won’t make sense to us. There are times when we won’t agree with what He wills or is doing but we just have to trust. We just have to get behind and say, “You are the Christ, I trust in you.” We must never put our will, desire, needs or thought above His.
In the Second Reading, St. James talks about living faith. Living faith is expressed in concrete actions of love but that’s not all. It is expressed more clearly in completely surrendering to God, putting His will and plan before ours and trusting in Him, even in what we do not understand or agree, knowing that He can’t be wrong. He does all things well – He is the Lord.
THE WAY YOU THINK
Finally, Jesus chastised people for the way they thought. He said, “The way you think is not God’s way but man’s.”
Now, this is deep. This reminds us that there is a way in which we reason and think that is contrary to God’s thought and wisdom. This tells us to be careful of what we think (to think about what we are thinking about), to surrender our thoughts to the Lord, to hold them captive (2 Corinthians 10:5) and to pray that our thoughts about ourselves, the world, others and our situations are in accordance with God’s truth.
The devil likes to attack our mind and fill it with all kinds of corrupt and deceitful thoughts. He tells us things such as God no longer loves us, that we are doomed, that our situation is hopeless, that our life is useless so we should end it, that we should hurt ourselves or others, that we would be miserable without the sin that gives us pleasure, that we don’t need to be different as everyone is doing it, that we cannot be free from sin, that our suffering is because God has rejected us. Sometimes He suggests to us to do something terrible because God doesn’t care or He will forgive us. Sometimes he suggests bad ideas to us about ourselves or others.
One of the greatest battles of a Christian happens in the mind, in our thoughts. This is why we should consecrate our minds to God and be careful of the thoughts we entertain. We ought to reject every thought that contradict God’s Word, and be quick to say, “Get away from me Satan.” Take note, I said “get away”, not behind because behind is as dangerous as beside.
Peace be with you all.
Sermon preached by Fr. Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on September 15, 2024