O.T.XXIV [B] IS 50:4c-9a; JAMES 2:14-18; MARK 8:27-35

The story is told of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson on a camping trip. As they lay sleeping one night, Holmes woke Watson and said, "Watson, look up into the sky and tell me what you see." Watson said, "I see millions of stars." Holmes asked, "And what does that tell you?" Watson replied, "Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Theologically, it tells me that God is great and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it tells me that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. And what does it tell you?" Holmes answered, "Someone stole our tent." Some people are great at speculative knowledge but when it comes to its implication for practical living they score zero. Such is Peter in today's gospel.

Scholars tell us that the passage we have for today's gospel is the central passage in Mark's Gospel. From the beginning of the Gospel up to this point has been a preparation for the revelation of the secret of Jesus' identity as the Messiah, in this passage the Messianic secret is revealed, and from here to the end of the Gospel deals with the fulfillment of Jesus' mission as the Messiah.

Jesus realized that if his disciples did not know who he really was, then his entire ministry, suffering and death would be useless. Hence, he decided to ask a question in two parts. 

The first question: “What is the public opinion of him?” Their answer was, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” John the Baptist was so great a figure that many Jews, and Herod their king, thought that John’s spirit had entered the body of Jesus. Elijah, the greatest of the prophets was believed to be the forerunner of the Messiah.  ["Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes"(Mal.4:5).] It was believed that, before the people went into exile, Jeremiah had taken the Ark of the Covenant and the altar of incense out of the Temple, and hidden them away in a lonely cave on Mount Nebo; before the coming of

the Messiah, he would return and produce them, and the glory of God would come to the people again (2Macc.2:1-12). 

This examination of the Apostles is done in two parts: a doctrinal-theological and a practical-existential part.

The first part focuses on the question: "Who do you say that I am?" (Mark 8:29a). Peter, spokesperson for the apostles gives the pointed and correct answer: "You are the Messiah". Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew word Messiah. To say that Jesus was the Christ, the anointed one of God was to say that He was the Immanuel, the Salvation of God -- God who became Man to save sinners!  Peter emerges in flying colors at the end of the first part of the examination.

The second half of the examination has to do with the practical implications of the conclusion they reached in the first part. "Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again". At this point Peter disagrees vehemently with Jesus. Even though he scored 100% in the doctrinal part of the exam, he shows by his actions that, in fact, he knows nothing of the practical implications of what he had said. So Jesus gives him a thumbs down. "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things". The Rock who came out in flying colors in the doctrinal section of the exam ends up as the Satan in the practical section, which is really the determining section. (It is something like our driving test. Even if you score 100 percent in the theory part, if you make a mistake in the practical part you can really kill yourself on the road.) This is what the prosperity preachers like Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer and others, do too. No suffering. God doesn’t want you to suffer at all. They say: the suffering and death of Jesus make sense only for Jesus, not for his followers. They fail to see that Jesus even called his dear disciple “Satan” for refusing the suffering. Without Jesus’ suffering we would not have had the salvation. Without suffering our spiritual muscles won’t be strengthened. Those who go to gym, do it not because they have nothing else to do, but because they realize that in order to keep them fit and strong they have to do this unpleasant exercise.   

It is characteristic of great leaders to make demands upon their followers. When Winston Churchill became Prime Minister he told the British people that he had nothing to offer them but "blood, toil, tears, and sweat." The Italian freedom fighter Gerabaldi told his followers that he offered them only hunger and death.

These were demanding leaders, but Jesus was a thousand times more demanding then they were. Jesus said, "So, therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple." Possessions cannot stand between you and the Lord. Jesus went so far as to say, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own mother and father, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters, he cannot be my disciple." Even something as noble as the love of family, as good and right as that is, cannot stand in the way of commitment to the Kingdom of God. Jesus comes to us as the Lord of History and makes demands: Take up you cross and follow me." Only the person who is dead to his own will can follow Christ." Christianity is pretty radical stuff, counter-cultural even. 

But then we need to remember another thing too. God does not want us to be passive sufferers. Jesus himself prayed in the garden, if this is your will, take this cup away from me. He himself went around the whole of Judea healing the sick and the suffering. So what should we take from this ? We shall not irrationally suffer. We shall not suffer injustice. If it is possible for us do whatever in our power to avoid such suffering. Suffer injustice only if it will bring greater good for people we love. This is why Jesus suffered on the cross. To save us and because he loves us. If I become terminally ill and there is no hope of recovery, but my life can only be kept alive by incurring a huge amount which would be a big burden for the rest of my family, will put them in huge debt, then I should choose not to put my family in trouble and choose to abstain from expensive treatment. At such situation I should accept the suffering as a God given opportunity to suffer for myself and others. We cannot know the secrets of all the suffering. Yesterday I was talking to one of our parishioners and he lost his wife to cancer two years ago, after 46 years of their married life. Now he finds it difficult to come to Church because he doesn’t know why God allowed that to happen. When a small child suffers from terminal illness, what does God get out of that ? We don’t know- all that is in the inscrutable plan of God. May be he uses one person’s suffering to convert another to God. He allowed his own son to suffer and die in order to save the humanity. Why can’t he use one child to save another of his child ? We don’t know. But one thing we know for sure from the scriptures that some sufferings are due to our own sins. But righteous persons like Job also suffered because that was to strengthen his spiritual muscles and also was a test of his faith. But in all circumstances we need to remember what St.Paul told us in Rom.8:28 “ I know that all things work together for good, for those who love God. Peter did not know when he made the profession of faith that either Jesus or he would have to suffer. But only gradually he came to accept the sufferings.

Let’s ask the Lord, that like Peter we may also assimilate the true meaning of the cross that not by eliminating the cross, but by embracing the cross as Jesus did that we experience the resurrection.