Homily for 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time September 12, 2021 (The true identity of Jesus)

  When people we know fail to recognize us, usually we are disappointed. We like people to get our name right, if only for the purpose of correct identification. Perhaps few of us would risk asking our friends, ‘’who do people say that I am?’’ Hearing reports of what people say about us or how they see us, however politely phrased, can dishearten us. Even alarm us. What if none of the answers matches our own self-understanding?

 When Jesus asks his disciples in today’s Gospel, ‘’who do people say I am?’’ the guesses all point to someone else, Elijah or John the Baptist or one of the prophets, figures celebrated for pointing forward to the Messiah. In contrast to what others think, Peter speaks on behalf of the disciples who have shared Jesus’ life intimately: he identifies Jesus as the Christ. Jesus is not numbered among those pointing to the Messiah; he is the Messiah.

 In response to Peter’s confession Jesus swears the disciples to silence, as if he does not wish to be known publicly as the Messiah. The traditional understanding of the title portrayed a spectacular figure who would accomplish victory over Israel’s oppressors by the use of military might, a conqueror who would never be touched by suffering or defeat. This understanding is a world away from Jesus’ understanding of his own role. The secret of his true identity will be revealed in his passion. The cross will uncover the truth of who he really is.

Jesus speaks about himself through the figure of the Son of Man, who must suffer and be rejected and be put to death. Not only must he suffer but experience comfortless suffering in being rejected. That rejection robs the suffering one of his dignity. He has to face forsakenness. He will not die of natural causes but be put to death. This experience of dereliction will be answered by God who will raise him up on the third day. Thus, whoever wants to understand Jesus must first look upon the figure of the suffering Son of Man. 

That future of suffering is what Peter denies has to happen. He strongly objects to what Jesus has said. Peter wants his Messiah strong and victorious and invulnerable. But Jesus rejects the idea of a future free from suffering; he rejects Peter’s longing for invulnerable leadership; he rejects the God of Peter’s dreams. A God who is a stranger to suffering and rejection is the invention of Satan. God will permit himself, in his Son, to be wounded and rejected and slain. Jesus is determined to suffer for the sorrows of others: to understand that is to understand the uniqueness of his being.

When the passion of Jesus gets under way, Peter will deny his master: ‘’I do not know the man.’’ Only later will Peter fully understand the depth of meaning in what Jesus says. In the meantime, Jesus calls the crowd and the disciples to him and says: ‘’if anyone wants to be a follower of mine…’’ Jesus compels no one, not even his disciples, to follow him on the road of suffering. If they do, if we do, denial of self is the first requisite. That is essential if we are to take our cross upon ourselves and share Christ’s passion in the world.

The cross of Jesus was for Jesus alone. No one is expected to carry the burden that lay on him alone. Jesus invites us to take up our own crosses, the weight of suffering which comes our way when we follow in his footsteps.

The Son of Man has gone before us, and in following his way we find our community with God. As Jesus’ true identity was revealed in the story of the Son of Man, so our true identity is uncovered when we become the followers of the Son of Man. In the language of the letter of St James, that happens when we put our faith to work. Our faith is tested in the real world and reality comes to us often in the shape of a cross. In taking it up, in accepting its burden, we live up to our name as Christians.