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Homily for the twelfth
Sunday of the year - Year C - Lk. 9:18-24
by
Father Daniel Meynen
" Now it happened that as
Jesus was praying alone the disciples were with him; and he asked them,
«Who do the people say that I am?» And they answered,
«John the Baptist; but others say, Elijah; and others, that one
of the old prophets has risen.» And he said to them, «But
who do you say that I am?» And Peter answered, «The Christ
of God.» But he charged and commanded them to tell this to no
one, saying, «The Son of man must suffer many things, and be
rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed,
and on the third day be raised.»
" And he said to all,
«If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up
his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will
lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save
it.» "
Homily:
" Now it happened that as
Jesus was praying alone the disciples were with him; and he asked them,
«Who do the people say that I am?» "
Today Jesus is in the
region of Caesarea Philippi, in the north of Palestine, near the source
of the Jordan. He preaches the reign of God, he heals the sick; he has
multiplied loaves twice already. But now he retires to a place a little
out of the way. He stands back, or rather, he invites his disciples to
stand back a little and he tries to make them think about the situation
in which they find themselves. Do the disciples know precisely who
Jesus is and what the people think of him? It seems that they do, and
this is the least of things, since we, today, base our faith and our
belief on what the Apostles themselves believed during their life. The
Church, from her foundation, is built on the rock of Peter's faith and
on that of the Apostles: it is this which gives her the name of
Apostolic Church! "I believe in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic
Church."
" And they answered,
«John the Baptist; but others say, Elijah; and others, that one
of the old prophets has risen.» And he said to them, «But
who do you say that I am?» And Peter answered, «The Christ
of God.» "
That is such a difference!
Those who are not disciples of Christ don't know who Jesus is! The
notion of 'knowledge' is fundamental in the Christian religion. Jesus,
who is "the Life" (Jn. 14:6), and who came to earth to us bring the
very Life of God, said, praying to his Father on the day before of his
Passion, "This is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." (Jn. 17:3) The Life of God, the
incarnated Word of Life is he whom the Father sent into the world in
order that the Father be known through him: the Son reveals the Father,
because he is his perfect Image. The very Life of God is communicated
to us only by way of revelation, that is to say by way of knowledge. If
we want to have the life of love which God offers us, it is necessary
that we know it, not in a natural and scientifical manner, but rather
in a manner of faith and love: "So we know and believe the love God has
for us." (1 Jn. 4:16)
Peter said it: Jesus is
God! "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Mt. 16:16) This
profession of faith belongs henceforth to the heritage of the Church:
Peter said it once, and from that time, it entered into the history of
the Church, the mystical Body of Christ! Like a living body, a body
which is always growing, whose members live forever in God even when
they have ceased to live on earth, the Church never ceases to receive
from her members the heritage that they leave her, day after day, up to
the end of their lives. All this constitutes the holiness of the Church
which is holy in the One who is eternally Holy: Christ Jesus! "I
believe in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church."
" But he charged and
commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, «The Son of man
must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief
priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be
raised.» And he said to all, «If any man would come after
me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow
me.» "
The Cross is always there!
Even though knowledge allows us to receive the very Life of God, this
knowledge is not ordinary knowledge: no, it is the knowledge of the
Cross of Christ! Saint Paul tells us this: "For it is written, «I
will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I
will thwart.» (Is. 29:14) Where is the wise man? Where is the
scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the
wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not
know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we
preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek
wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and
folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks,
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God!" (1 Co. 1:19-24)
Don't be afraid of the
folly of the Cross! It is the wisdom of God! Let us receive into
ourselves the Eucharist, the Body of the dead and risen Christ! Let us
say to him, through Mary and for Her: "You are the Christ, the Son of
the living God!"
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