__CLICK HERE: AUDIO OF SUN. SEPT. 12, 2021 HOMILY__
Sept. 12, 2021 / 24th Sunday (Year B) ● Isaiah 50:4c-9a ● Psalm __ ● James 2:14-18 ● + Mark 8:27-35 ●
__ Click to Watch Video: Sat.5:30 pm Mass, Sat. Sept. 11, 2021 ___
Title: Person. Prediction. Perspective
[__00_] What’s your password?
I
get it, understand, if you feel uncomfortable telling me your password.
Because a password not only reveals
something about “who you are” but also about “what you do”. It is both an
identifier and a purpose.
“What’s your password?” is also not such an easy question because you
may have more than ONE – as the average person – you would have 75 passwords to remember in our
complex, digital online world for access to money, banking, insurance, school,
work….
In the Gospel, we learn not only about
the “password of Jesus” (who he is) but
also the “purpose of Jesus”. (what he’s doing)
[__01_] To
remember your password, sometimes you use – we use – hints or clues….
There are clues leading up to Jesus’
2-part “password question”
·
“Password”
/ Question Part 1
·
PREDICTION
& Password Part 2
·
PERSPECTIVE
of Jesus, for the disciples and us, Part 3
[__02__] [Password Q. 1]
This is the first clue:
“Who do
people say that I am?” (Mark 8:27)
Jesus was asking for the “password”..
but they do not have it memorized. The disciples Google-search and come up with
other “identities” based on previous national / spiritual heroes, based on
“precedent”.
Jesus is equated with 1 of the
prophets, many of some of whom were known for their influential insider status
– like a presidential national security adviser, one who has the passwords.
They were expecting Jesus to be a
“Moses version 2.0” who had unlocked them from Egypt …. And, in fact, Jesus is going to unlock and rescue us from
“places” – from our own places and occasions of sin. That liberation is first
going to come – on the inside – by repenting of our sins and hearing the
Gospel.
Then, there is the 2nd
clue, a more personal Q # 2:
“Who do you say that I am?” (Mark
8:29)
Peter knows the password, at least
part of the password: “You are the Messiah / the Christ.” (Mark 8:29).
Perhaps, we can also know this
password– with Peter – “Jesus, you are the
Christ, you are my personal savior…”
That ‘s good.
But, do we have preconceived notions
of what Jesus as Christ and Savior is supposed to do / deliver?
Peter comprehends the person of the
Messiah, but contradicts the next part of the password, the “prediction.”
[__03_] [PREDICTION.]
What’s does Jesus predict in the next
part of the password? This is “what he is doing…”
“He began to
teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the
elders, by the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and rise after three
days”
(Mark
8:31)
This “prediction” verse of Mark 8:31
is a really long password, but some people
have long passwords !
Peter, on the other hand, cannot
handle this PREDICTION and longer PASSWORD right now and does not want to
release it or memorize it.
And, because Peter refused the
prediction, he is “rebuked” or “reprimanded.”
How do you feel about being rebuked or
reprimanded?
Usually, I prefer to catch the error
of my ways – first – and then correct it …before anyone else notices.
My parents had me pegged/defined at a
young age, pointing out to me that if I was upset or anxious, I would demonstrate
this and wear my heart on my sleeve.
And, I am well aware of my ability to
examine or analyze a situation, to be introspective, to be introverted. This
attitude, however, does not mean that I come to the right conclusions.
And, also, do I recognize that my
errors do not start in my actions but in my thoughts? Sometimes, I miss this! Peter is reprimanded
not for his actions – but for his “thinking”.
I believe if you and I are attentive,
that God will rebuke us, will reprimand us, sometimes through another person,
sometimes in our consciences, in our thoughts.
And, these rebukes – or reprimands -
are not meant to diminish us, to put us down.
Examples of rebuke. You and I
could be “reprimanded” in my conscience or by others with messages such as ..
slow down, focus, listen, be on time…
These may seem to be little things, but he who is faithful in small
things is faithful in great things.
Also,
sometimes, I am trying to do 75+ things, with 75+ passwords. FOCUS !
A rebuke is not an insult.
Peter is not being bullied or “put down” but rather being “put right” or “put
into line”. Do I have the ears to hear God’s rebuke and Word ?
A rebuke is not a to-do list
I
am an introvert and I want the to-do list. I want to know what to do. But, the
rebuke and reprimand of God is reminding that that Holy Spirit is acting even
before I do. As Jesus says to all of us, ”It
is not you choose me but I chose you.” (John 16: __?? Vine and
branches?)
So, before I go out and change the
world or even change myself, I am called to examine my thoughts, my heart and
let the Holy Spirit in, so that I can get out of God’s way + get out of my own
way, to allow God to speak, to learn his password, his Word !.
“The word of God is living and
effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and
spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the
heart”
(Hebrews 4:12)
[__04_] So,
there was the ….
-
“Password”
/ Question of Jesus
-
“Password
/ ”PREDICTION of Jesus
[__05_] [PERSPECTIVE]
Jesus invites us to have a new view, a
new perspective.
In many ways, I am inclined to ask the
common question which is also a denial of sorts: “why me?”
Jesus is prompting me to ask – why not
me?
And saying to Peter, “why not you?”
Certainly, Peter thought the suffering was
NOT necessary because Jesus Himself was the Messiah with the password with the capital
M ! The Messiah is the password that will open doors !
And, I might say – of myself that it’s not necessary for me to suffer
inconvenience due to my own individuality and my own declaration of the right
to my life, my liberty and my pursuit of happiness. That’s my memorized
password.
Jesus has come among us not just to
discipline us with a new action plan but to invite us into friendship with him,
to share both our joys and sorrows with him.
Do we not celebrate and suffer – WITH OTHERS
- because we do know that is necessary for our survival ?
We are also called to join our joys and
sufferings to God. This is a new perspective.
When we really love someone, we are often
willing to endure great struggles for the benefit of the other –even if we are
not really smiling through the inconveniences and discomfort – we hear the call
in order to be close to supportive someone else.
St. Paul
said this of his why he accepted suffering: “that I may know him and the power of his
resurrection, and may share his suffering, becoming like him in his death, that
if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:8-11)”
Jesus summarizes his perspective, later in
Mark ch. 8:
“For whoever wishes to save his life
will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel*
will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit
his life?” (Mark 8:35-36)
[__08_] [9 / 11]
Starting a few minutes before 9 am on
September 11, 2001, we felt and saw the shocks and aftershocks of the terrorist
attack at the World Trade Center (WTC) that also left us with an experience
that reminds of a day of:
·
Perspective
·
Predictions of suffering
·
Personal remembrance
1st.
The Perspective
From our neighborhood and locale, and actual
visual vista and perspective from Mountain Avenue, Fairmount Terrace or Moore
Terrace, from Eagle Rock Reservation, and many other places, we could see the
destruction. Some of us lost loved ones on that day. From nearby sidewalks and
houses – and certainly at Eagle Rock Reservation – the skyline was clearly
visible in high-definition blue sky and smoke.
On September 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 people
lost their lives in the worst terrorist attack in history, not just in the
United States but in the world.
2nd. Prediction
of Suffering
And, if you went only by the initial
PREDICTION, you might think the firefighters and police and first responders
would not achieve much. If we had only gone by the prediction of what would
happen if such a disaster were to happen, such as the collapse of the WTC
Towers, North and South, because of planes crashing into them, these firefighters
had limited resources.
They would have to travel so far go up with
so much equipment. The recording of one
911 dispatcher, within one minute of the first attack, is asking for “every available ambulance, everything you've
got, go to the World Trade Center now.”
3. Personal Remembrance
343 firefighters died in the line of duty on 9/11/01,
the largest 1-day casualty count for the fire service ever. Most of the FF died
after successfully evacuating citizen and after citizen from the WTC towers.
When they rescued someone and got him or her to safety, the firefighters would
rush back into the burning building to search for more survivors. When the Twin
Towers collapsed, the South Tower at 9:59 a.m. and the North Tower at 10:28
a.m., there were still firefighters in the structures doing the job they were
hired to do.
There were fire departments from around the
tri-state area that rushed into help at Ground Zero that day and on the days to
come. The West Orange Fire Department proudly served at the World Trade Center.
In the spirit of the gospel, they were
emptying themselves humbled, obedient, even unto death. They defended us with their courage with
their love. That was their purpose. God’s purpose is also that we share in the
Cross by taking up the cross.
We pray that God will bless those who died on
9/11, those who dug with shovels and hands for many months thereafter at Ground
Zero, those who have died since 9/11 and that their deaths may also remind us
that none of us is forgotten and none of us truly dies alone. This is also true
of our daily “dying to self” and sacrifices that we are united to Christ and to
each other.
“None of us
lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the
Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we
are the Lord’s. For this is why Christ
died and came to life, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.” (Romans 14:7-9)
[__fin__]
No comments:
Post a Comment