Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's Mass Readings

Today's gospel raised some basic yet signinficant questions. Who is this Jesus? What makes Jesus the kind pan-hisatorical figure that he is? What made a small group of terrified cowards (his disciples), and a few women (who had minimal role in Jewish society), to be so emboldened to spread the news of his resurrection (there is no historical evidence of the resurrection) to the whole world? “Who then was Jesus?” That is the question Jesus himself asks his disciples in today’s gospel reading, “Who do people that say I am?” Jesus did not fare will at that first ever opinion poll. Some thought he was Jeremiah and others thought he was Elijah. But then he asks the most crucial question to his close followers, “But who do you say that I am?”

 
The disciples of Jesus including Paul, who preached Christ’s message to the then known world, must have had some unexplainable conviction about Jesus that drove them all the way to martyrdom. Their answer to the question, “Who do you say I am?” must have been really important to them because, really, there was nothing to gain from their faith in Christ. Their master himself was put to a shameful death as both Isaiah in today’s first reading and Jesus in the gospel reading predicted. There was no real money in it for them, no power, and certainly no glamour. In fact, most of the early followers of Jesus were the poorest and most powerless people. If they were rich and influential, they traded it for poverty and persecution. In fact, Jesus himself had warned them, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” (Lk 8:35).

If Christ has become the most important figure in history, it is because of two reasons: first, Jesus’ revolutionary new teaching. In a world of religious legalism and religious fear (I mean religions based on fear) Christ’s love centered message – radical yet genuine love of God and neighbor – came as a breath of fresh air. The breathtaking stringency of his ethical demands and his simultaneous patience and compassion was revolutionary. However, a religion is also what its followers make of it. Jesus has become the single most influential figure also because of the conviction and zeal of its followers. Till 380 AD there is not one account of Christians doing violence on their persecutors. There are only stories of persecution, martyrdom, undying faith, love and forgiveness. And the Christian community grew.

If Christianity is stagnant in many parts of the world today, and if it is dying in Europe, I suggest that we take stock of the manner in which we live our faith, both as a Church community and as individual Christians. Today, both the church and every Christian must answer Christ’s question anew – “Who do you say I am?”

What is your answer? This answer is the most crucial for your salvation!!!

- Fr. Satish Joseph