Our knowledge of Him Determines How We Serve Him

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Twelfth Sunday in the Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Gerard Majella Church

Baton Rouge, LA, USA

Sunday, June 23, 2013

During one of the most crucial moments in his life and ministry, Jesus asked his disciples a crucial question that deserved a crucial answer: “Who do the crowds say that I am?” He asked this question not because he didn’t know himself who he was. He was certainly aware of who he was. His words and actions showed that awareness as he taught with authority, healed the sick, cast out demons, forgave sins, cleansed lepers, raised the dead, calmed a raging sea (storm), walked on waters, fed thousands of people with five barley loves and two fish, broke and disregarded racial and discriminatory laws that divide people. The Gospels picture him as a person who is convinced he can speak and act for God, with a power that went beyond ordinary human experience. Jesus certainly knew who he was, but when he asked: “Who do the crowds say that I am?” and “But who do you say that I am?” he wanted to find out if there was anyone, from the crowds to his disciples who was beginning to understand, through his teaching and deeds, who he was. He was not expecting a full comprehension of who he was. But he expected someone or some people to have a hint of who he was. From the testimony of Peter: “(Your are) The Christ of God” he had an idea of who Jesus was, but his knowledge of Jesus was still at the beginning stage. So, the Lord strongly urged them not to tell anyone yet. They had much to learn before they could start teaching others. As for the crowds, they thought that Jesus must be a reincarnation of one of their respected dead prophets like John the Baptist, or Elijah or one of the ancient prophets. 

Christ was not Jesus’ last name. The word Christ (Christos in Greek) means the “Anointed One.” In Hebrew, the word for “Anointed One” is Messiah. The Jewish view of the Christ was a powerful and gifted king or a cosmic judge of the earth or a great high priest who would teach the undiluted word of God. He would also liberate God’s people and save them from the Roman occupation. The disciples of Jesus, like all other Jews had grown up expecting from God an all conquering king who would conquer the world. But Jesus was the King, but not the type of king being expected. Peter and the other disciples were filled with excitement of being associated with the messiah who will conquer the world. But Jesus shocked and disappointed them when he told them that the God’s Anointed One had come to conquer nations but not with weapons of mass destruction but with the weapon of mass salvation- that is the Cross. He has come to die upon a Cross so that people of every nation, language, tribe and tongue might be saved.

After disappointing his disciples of the fate and the destiny of the Anointed One, Jesus shocked them more by declaring: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he (she) must deny himself (herself) and take up his (her) cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his (her) life will loose it, but whoever looses his (her) life for my sake will save it.” But what does it mean to deny oneself? To deny oneself means making one’s life less about him or her and more about God. It is about making a daily effort to primarily please God in everything that one does or says. As long as God and God’s matters do not come first in our lives, we are yet to deny ourselves. God and matters of God should come first, second and third in every aspect of our lives. A life deeply and primarily centered on God knows it is not all about him or her, but all about Jesus. Any believer who achieves this feat will always say with St. Paul: “I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Jesus also enjoined his disciples to take up their cross daily and follow him. To take up our cross means to be prepared to face and confront the difficulty associated with being loyal and obedient to Jesus. To take up our cross means being ready to endure the worst that people can do to us for the sake of being true to him. It means being ready to refuse to be intimidated by those who persecute us because we belong to Jesus. It means saying no even when it is most difficult to say so to those who want us to betray him. Being true to Jesus will bring some rejection and castigation. Those who hate your simplicity, your honesty, your faithfulness and your tidy moral life will come to paint you bad. It is usually said “If you cannot beat them, join them.” But if you refuse to join the bandwagon, they will come after you. But refusing to join the bandwagon of immorality instead preferring the castigation and hatred is part of the cross.

“Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it…” God has given us life, not to horde it or to keep for ourselves. We are given life to spend for others. Therefore the question is no longer “How much can I get,” but “How much can I give?” It is no longer “What is the safe thing to do? but “What is the right thing to do?” Life is not only about me, but about others. But ultimately, it is all about Jesus the Lord of life. And there is a connection between giving our life to others and giving our life to Jesus. There will be a glorious reward for doing that. If we are true to him in time, he will be true to us in eternity. If we follow him in this world, in the next world, he will count us as one of his people. But if we disown him here on earth by the way we live, even when we confess him with our lips, he will disown us.

Jesus knew that his followers would sometimes endure some discomfort and risk their lives in order to be his true followers. That is still the case today- fortunately though not in our country at this period in time. The greatest suffering or sacrifice most of us have to deal with as Jesus’ followers is to keep his law of love and to give up one hour a week to go to Mass. Still, many people find that too hard. They look for a reason not to go to Mass on Sunday. On two different occasions when the air conditioner in the church did not run, some people who came to Mass on Sunday could not endure the momentary discomfort and stay till the end of the Mass. Some walked out of the church with the Eucharist still in their mouth as soon as they received it. They did not even have the time to sit for a few seconds and to thank the Lord for the gift of himself. The heat was simply unbearable to them. Some did not even come to Mass at all. It’s possible they went to another parish church around. But what’s the reason? Probably  to avoid the little discomfort that was no fault of anyone. But what would such Catholics do if they were threatened with arrest or confiscation of their property, or even death because they were Catholics? None of us like to think of such things, but some Christian martyrs we honor and celebrate today endured all that. They understood that the way of the cross is the way of the crown. If there is no cross, there will be no crown. 

“If you never felt pain, then how would you know that Jesus is a Healer?If you never had a trial, how could you call yourself an overcomer?If you never felt sadness, how would you know that the Holy Spirit is the Comforter?If you never were in  trouble, how would you know that the Lord will come to your rescue? If you never had a problem, how would you know that Jesus is the Burden-Bearer? If you never had any suffering, then how would you know what the Lord went through? If you never went through the fire,  how would you become pure as gold? If God gave you all things, how would you appreciate them and depend on him? If your life was perfect, you may never need God! “

Think about these!