Aug. 27, 2017: 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time A
Aug. 27, 2017: 21st Sunday A
Click to hear Audio Homily
On the eve of Christmas, a reporter went out to the busy streets of New York City to ask a simple question, “Who is Jesus?” The streets were filled with people from all over the world, and the answers they gave varied wildly and were sometimes inaccurate: “A man from the 60’s” ;“The blond headed dude in pictures”; “A man from a story made up by someone”; “A man with good morals”; “An inspiring man”; and “A man whose story is blown out of proportion.” A Gallup Poll said that eight in ten Americans have consistently held the belief that Jesus Christ is God or the Son of God. Half of these folks say that Jesus was in fact God living among men, while most of the remainder believe that Jesus was divine only in the sense that he was a man who was uniquely called by God to reveal God's purpose in the world.
Does it matter whether we believe who Jesus truly is? Is it “practical” to believe in Jesus? Let’s look at Peter for an example. He and other disciples had been following Jesus for nearly three years. They had heard Jesus’ teaching and seen his miracles. The disciples had seen Jesus as a popular person, a great leader and wonderful teacher. They had grown in their understanding of him. Yet, it took them quite a while to realize who Jesus really was. This was demonstrated in today’s Gospel while in Caesarea-Philippi where Jesus turned to his disciples and asked what people were saying about him, “Who do people say that I am?” The general impression was that Jesus was one of the prophets or John the Baptist sent back from the dead. Evidently the people had not yet recognized him as the Messiah. Simon Peter then answered for all the disciples without hesitation that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the Son of the living God. In response, Jesus confers on Peter the primacy and leadership in the church he was establishing. Jesus also tells Peter that he will be the foundation of his church and that the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
As the informal poll in the streets of New York City demonstrates, despite technological advancement in communication, many people have not come to know who Jesus is. We might think that because we are here celebrating mass that we know who Jesus is. Yet, we baptized and confirmed Catholics would struggle giving an answer to the question -- and, believing it in our heart and living it in our lives. Look at me as an example: I was baptized and confirmed in the church, and if I had been asked during my late high school or early college years the question, “Who is Jesus,” I would have replied, “It’s that guy who is hanging on the cross; that’s what I’ve been taught. But personally, I don’t care who he is because he is irrelevant in my life.” What kind of answer is that!?!
For many of us, Jesus is irrelevant and impractical, just as in the days when Jesus taught in the streets of Jerusalem. In fact, he may be inconvenient to us, affecting our schedule on weekends. In the distracted lives we live right now, we lose sight of the fact that Jesus is the Savior of the world, whose cross and resurrection has set us free. What does it mean to be free? I think we all know that with freedom comes responsibility - a responsibility to act.
Through the Catholic Church which Jesus established firmly on Peter, each generation is challenged to know Jesus personally, to convert hearts and minds to fulfill His mission. Jesus invites us to discover him, serve him and love him as Lord, and he wants from each one of us a resounding single-hearted response. He offers an exclusive promise that through him and in him alone we will find salvation, and nothing is more practical than finding Jesus and believing in Jesus. When we know who Jesus is to us, we will live our lives very differently. Our head and heart knowledge of Jesus determines what or who we fall in love with and what seizes the imagination. It will decide what will get us out of bed in the morning, what we will do with our evenings, how we spend our weekends, what we read, whom we know, what breaks our hearts, and what amazes us with joy and gratitude.
When with every breath we take, we truly know that we are the hands and feet of Jesus responsible for completing His mission on Earth, only then have we the understood the question, “Who do you say that I am?”.
Click to hear Audio Homily
On the eve of Christmas, a reporter went out to the busy streets of New York City to ask a simple question, “Who is Jesus?” The streets were filled with people from all over the world, and the answers they gave varied wildly and were sometimes inaccurate: “A man from the 60’s” ;“The blond headed dude in pictures”; “A man from a story made up by someone”; “A man with good morals”; “An inspiring man”; and “A man whose story is blown out of proportion.” A Gallup Poll said that eight in ten Americans have consistently held the belief that Jesus Christ is God or the Son of God. Half of these folks say that Jesus was in fact God living among men, while most of the remainder believe that Jesus was divine only in the sense that he was a man who was uniquely called by God to reveal God's purpose in the world.
Does it matter whether we believe who Jesus truly is? Is it “practical” to believe in Jesus? Let’s look at Peter for an example. He and other disciples had been following Jesus for nearly three years. They had heard Jesus’ teaching and seen his miracles. The disciples had seen Jesus as a popular person, a great leader and wonderful teacher. They had grown in their understanding of him. Yet, it took them quite a while to realize who Jesus really was. This was demonstrated in today’s Gospel while in Caesarea-Philippi where Jesus turned to his disciples and asked what people were saying about him, “Who do people say that I am?” The general impression was that Jesus was one of the prophets or John the Baptist sent back from the dead. Evidently the people had not yet recognized him as the Messiah. Simon Peter then answered for all the disciples without hesitation that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the Son of the living God. In response, Jesus confers on Peter the primacy and leadership in the church he was establishing. Jesus also tells Peter that he will be the foundation of his church and that the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
As the informal poll in the streets of New York City demonstrates, despite technological advancement in communication, many people have not come to know who Jesus is. We might think that because we are here celebrating mass that we know who Jesus is. Yet, we baptized and confirmed Catholics would struggle giving an answer to the question -- and, believing it in our heart and living it in our lives. Look at me as an example: I was baptized and confirmed in the church, and if I had been asked during my late high school or early college years the question, “Who is Jesus,” I would have replied, “It’s that guy who is hanging on the cross; that’s what I’ve been taught. But personally, I don’t care who he is because he is irrelevant in my life.” What kind of answer is that!?!
For many of us, Jesus is irrelevant and impractical, just as in the days when Jesus taught in the streets of Jerusalem. In fact, he may be inconvenient to us, affecting our schedule on weekends. In the distracted lives we live right now, we lose sight of the fact that Jesus is the Savior of the world, whose cross and resurrection has set us free. What does it mean to be free? I think we all know that with freedom comes responsibility - a responsibility to act.
Through the Catholic Church which Jesus established firmly on Peter, each generation is challenged to know Jesus personally, to convert hearts and minds to fulfill His mission. Jesus invites us to discover him, serve him and love him as Lord, and he wants from each one of us a resounding single-hearted response. He offers an exclusive promise that through him and in him alone we will find salvation, and nothing is more practical than finding Jesus and believing in Jesus. When we know who Jesus is to us, we will live our lives very differently. Our head and heart knowledge of Jesus determines what or who we fall in love with and what seizes the imagination. It will decide what will get us out of bed in the morning, what we will do with our evenings, how we spend our weekends, what we read, whom we know, what breaks our hearts, and what amazes us with joy and gratitude.
When with every breath we take, we truly know that we are the hands and feet of Jesus responsible for completing His mission on Earth, only then have we the understood the question, “Who do you say that I am?”.
