Doers of the Word
Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021
Three Questions!
Jesus was a Jew. “Why does a Jew always answer a question with a question?” Response: “Why shouldn’t a Jew always answer a question with a question?”
“Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asked of his Apostles. Some said the prophets of old, others Elijah. It was Peter who got it right: “You are the Anointed One of God.” (Matthew 16:13-16).
Second Jesus question: “Will you also go away?” Jesus asked this one of his Apostles at a time when so many people were scandalized by him and had left him. (Like now!) Again, it was Peter who said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life.” (John 6:66) Are you unnerved by the open wound of the scandals in his Church? Do you have serious criticism of our country? So, how will you answer this second question? Like the candle, will you say to the darkness, “I beg to differ?”
Third Jesus question: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” And when Peter answers “yes, you know that I do, “Jesus replied, “Then feed my sheep.” (John 21:15). Pope Francis described his wish for pastors “with the smell of the Sheep.”
Chapter 8 of Mark’s Gospel shows Jesus exasperated with his disciples. “Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?” he asks them (verse 18). After seeing him feed five thousand people and then four thousand more, they still worry about their next meal.
For centuries the Jews have been under foreign domination and are staking all their hopes on a liberator who will lead their nation back to glory. Matthew 16:17-19 records that Jesus, pleased by Peter’s impulsive declaration, lavishes praise on him. Yet Peter’s brightest moment barely precedes one of his worst – a few paragraphs later Jesus identifies Peter with Satan. What transpires between these two scenes marks an important turning point in the story of Jesus’ life.
Peter may have grasped Jesus’ identity, but he has much to learn about Jesus’ mission. Not comprehending the Messiah’s ultimate goal, he wants Jesus to avoid suffering. Jesus knows otherwise. From this moment on, Jesus makes a strategic turn, leaving Galilee to head toward Jerusalem, where he will meet his fate.
If someone asked you point-blank, “Who is Jesus?” What would you say?