Mark 8, 27-Mark 9-1 (Peter’s
Confession)
1st
August Trinity
And
Jesus went on with his disciples into the region of Caesarea Philippi
(in the north of the land at the source of the
Jordan where the Roman Caesar was worshiped as a divine being). And on the way
there he asked the disciples (and said to them), “Who do people say that I am?”
They said to him, “Some say
that you are John the Baptist; others say Elijah, still others that you are one
of the prophets.”
Then
Peter answered, “You are the Christ.”
And Jesus warned them not to
tell anyone about him.
And he began to teach them: “The Son of Man must suffer much and will
be rejected by the leaders of the people, by the elders and the teachers of the
law, and he will be killed and after three days he will rise again.” Freely and
openly he told them this.
And he called the crowd
together, including his disciples and said to them, “Whoever would follow me
must practice self-denial and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever is
concerned about the salvation of his own soul will lose it; but whoever gives
his life for my sake and the sake of the gospel, his soul will find power and
healing. For what use is it to a human being to gain the whole world if through
that he damages his soul, which falls victim to the power of an empty darkness?
What then can a man give as ransom for his soul? In this present humanity,
which denies the spirit and lives in error, whoever is ashamed of me and my
words, of him the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the shining
revelation of the Father among his holy angels.“
And
he said to them, “The truth I say to you, among those who are standing here there
are some who will not taste death before they behold the kingdom of God arising
in human beings, revealing itself in the power and magnificence of the spirit.”
1st August Trinity
Mark 8: 27
– 9:1
We may have had the experience of being introduced to
someone about whom we have already heard a lot. In the first few seconds they
are just an ordinary blank stranger. But as it dawns on us who they really are,
a whole inner story lights up around them.
Our relationship with Christ begins with a kind of
introduction, followed by a first dawning recognition. The disciples had long
before heard about a coming Messiah, a prophet and a priest-king. In today’s
Gospel, Christ is in a circumspect way introducing Himself to them: “Who do
people say that I am? What do you say?” No boasting here. He counts on them to
recognize who He truly is. It is Peter who on whom it dawns that the Jesus they
already know and love, is the Christ, the Messiah. But Christ Jesus is careful
to warn them that there is a darker side to His story than the glories of
priest, king and prophet: there will be suffering, rejection, and death; but
also resurrection.
Christ in fact still walks the earth. And today it is just as important to Him that
we come to an inner recognition of His presence and being. He walks and
operates among us.
How can we recognize Him? He “hides” in plain sight. His
self-description in the gospel gives us a hint at where to look. Whenever we
see suffering and death, He is there at work. Whenever we rise up again, from
our griefs and blows, from our sick bed, even from a night’s sleep, there He is
working. He lives every moment in every breath we take. We only have to open
our eyes, and our souls. We can see Him everywhere, working in everyone,
infusing the world with the strength of His life and His love.
The poet Hafiz writes:
When your eyes have found the
strength
To constantly speak to the world
All that is most dear
To your own
Life,
When your hands, feet, and tongue
Can perform in that rare unison
That comforts this longing earth
With knowledge, your soul
Your soul has been groomed
In His city of love….[1]
www.thechristiancommunity.org
[1]
Hafiz, “I Vote for You for God”, in The
Gift, Daniel Ladinsky, p. 175.
