June 18 & 19, 2016+ JMJ +
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
What do you say?
Who do you say that Jesus is? Other people say many things about Jesus. Go into the religion section at any bookstore, and you will find the same boring, uninspired opinions repeated in new editions with fancy covers. Some try to make Jesus a pacifist teacher inspired by Buddhist thought. Others make him a political revolutionary who did not mean to get himself killed. Still others offer flimsy so-called evidence that he never existed at all. To Hindus, he is one teacher among many. To Muslims, he is a great prophet, but not as great as Muhammad.
All those opinions are like the crowds whom the disciples quote. They have not gotten to know Jesus. They did not walk with him or listen to him speak in person. They make Jesus fit their own agenda or classify him in such a way as to keep themselves comfortable. Not so with the disciples. They have actually spent time with him. They have seen the miracles. They have seen prophecies fulfilled to the letter. They have felt his authority and heard his wisdom. They are the ones in the best place to make an informed decision about Jesus. And so one of them, St. Peter, is qualified to say that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah.
It does not matter what the crowds say. They have no authority in this matter. That holds true for the crowds today. Those who are not disciples of Jesus have no way of saying who he is. That would be like asking a total stranger to describe you. They could look at you from afar and make some guesses about your habits and your preferences, but they could not presume to know your thoughts and feelings on important matters, let alone your true identity.
This moment in the Gospel leaves us with two important lessons. First, to know who Jesus is, we must be his disciples. Faith is the key that opens the door to true knowledge of Jesus. Our human reason alone is not enough. We need the help of God’s grace to know Him. But being a disciple is not simply a one-time decision of accepting Jesus as our savior. Jesus has something much tougher in mind. He tells the disciples “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himselfand take up his cross daily and follow me.” As the Bible scholar David Jeffrey puts it, “Whatever we think the good news of the gospel means, it clearly doesn’t mean here something like ‘let the good times roll’” (Brazos Theological Commentary: Luke, page 139). Discipleship is difficult, but like all worthwhile things in life, we must persevere to reach the joy that lays beyond: the love, joy, and peace that Jesus calls us to share.
The second lesson from today’s Gospel is this: to know who Jesus is, we must learn from other disciples. We have many experts today, but few disciples. I have read about Jesus from many different sources and gained some good knowledge. Those sources that help me really know Jesus are those written by his followers. The most excellent sources are the saints, because their lives are evidence that they walked with Jesus. The second-best are holy Catholics who are not yet declared saints, but whose lives exhibit holiness and virtue. The third are writings officially approved by the Catholic Church, which is the community of disciples down through the ages. Look for books with the special words “nihil obstat” inside the cover to know that they have this official approval. Last of all, I consider writings by so-called experts with a large grain of salt. They may stumble upon a new discovery, but it could be mixed with plenty of error, so I always watch out for what they are saying.
Does it matter what the entire world says about Jesus? Does it matter what television, movies, or music says about him? Ultimately, no. It matters what you say about him, though, because that determines whether you join him in heaven or not. So let’s you and I renew our commitment to know Jesus by being his disciples—even carrying the crosses he gives us—and by learning more about him from fellow disciples.
Rev. Eric Culler