June 19, 2016

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time C
Zechariah 12: 10-11; 13:1; Galatians 3: 26-29; Luke 9: 18-24
Imagine a person from a distant planet arrives in our area. This individual looks just like us ‘earth
creatures’ and speaks perfect English. This individual asks you/me one question: Who are you? How
would we respond? I imagine that I would say my name…where I am from…what I do. This
individual asks if you/me could go more into detail…how would we respond? I imagine I would talk
more about my family…what the region is like where I am from…talk about what I do and what I like about it. If this individual said this is just what is on the outside of you, what are you like on the inside? How would I respond to this? How long would it be before I begin to express my religion, its beliefs and my faith? Would I include how important God is in my life? Would I explain what it means to be a living witness to Jesus?
It might be far-fetched to open ourselves this far but isn’t this who we are? Jesus is asking the disciples today as to who the people say that He is? Then He asks each one of them individually who they think that He is…and today He is asking each of us to reflect on this too. So how would we respond? The disciples had real strong ideas, hopes and dreams as to WHAT they wanted Jesus to be…the Messiah of God. Most of them would agree exactly HOW Jesus was to exercise this ministry as Messiah. He would free them from the horrible enslavement to Rome and reestablish the great years of the Kingship of Israel as evidenced in David and his son, King Solomon. THEN Israel would be a great nation again and the people and the country would be respected and recognized as a world power. Their dreams were for their own security and prosperity as were those of the vast majority of the Jewish people at that time.
The people wanted a Messiah…they needed a Messiah. Those in positions of authority liked the way
things were going and didn’t want to change—this is the normal reaction of those who have ‘the power and influence’. Don’t rock the boat is the theme of this last group. The group before said but we’re hurting and not cared for; aren’t we important people? So the question is where is our importance?Where does it come from? What does our importance mean? Jesus came to tell us that each person is a child of God…is lovable and He promised that each one has a place in heaven forever. Am I living this?
The first reading is from the prophet Zechariah. Actually this book is a collection of oracles from
several prophets written over a period of time describing the coming of the Messiah. The opening lines of the book set the theme: “In the second year of Darius (520 BC)…the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah…The Lord was indeed angry with your fathers…and say to them: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts….turn from your evil ways and from your wicked deeds.” Today’s reading shows how God prepares to ‘pour out’ over the house of David and all the people of Jerusalem, a spirit that will motivate them to become the ideal nation God has always wanted them to be. They will be able to do this ONLY with the grace and gifts that God will provide. The Messiah was coming because God promised. The Messiah would lead all to God. Now what would the Messiah be like…the people’s imagination ran wild…so much so that they could never recognize Jesus as fitting their mold. Do we feel that Jesus fits the mold of God?
Paul uses a very striking image to the Galatians when he says that when God looks at the Christian, God sees Christ. He tells them that all the baptized have “clothed yourselves with Christ.” This means that clothes only cover the outside. It is what is inside that is the source of all. It is our Faith and Baptism that transforms us. We are ‘new creations’ we are Christ’s, we are people and a community of love.
Can I be noticed as Christ’s? When people see how I act and how I live do they see in me Christ? Do I hide what Jesus lived and taught?
And Jesus asks each of us in the Gospel, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter responds immediately. Alice Camille in Exploring the Sunday Readings says, “Peter chooses to name Jesus as the Christ of God.It’s interesting that Mathew says Jesus congratulates Peter for this answer: Bingo! (See Matthew 16). But in Mark’s version of the story (chapter 8), Jesus simply shushes them to silence, and according to Luke, this same answer earns them all a rebuke. Is ‘Christ of God’ the right answer or not? Or is too vague, too partial, too open to misinterpretations? In every account Jesus Himself prefers to be known as the one who suffers and seeks companions willing to suffer in His name. Is this a name of Jesus we’re willing to embrace?”
I asked again and reflect on my opening questions: how important is God in my life and what does it
mean to be a living witness to Jesus? Am I becoming each day what the Lord intends for me to be? The disciples thought they knew it all. They had been with Jesus for close to three years and they knew all about Him. How often I slip into that mold…I have been a Christian since my baptism, forty-one days after my birth, I know what Jesus is all about and what I am to be. Do I? Jesus told the disciples today that they would only understand AFTER He suffered, died and rose. They somehow were thinking about glory, fame, honor and power. Jesus is teaching them and me and all of us today about rejection, suffering, death and resurrection. Discipleship isn’t about what am I going to get out of it…but it’s about IMITATING Jesus. The world defines life by accomplishments, possessions, being rewarded and looked up to. Jesus is leading us to places we never dreamed of and if we’re honest, never really hoped for. Fr. John Petrikovic, OFM Cap describes it in this way, “The Messiah leads us to self-denial. Rather than a simple denial of certain things in our lives, the Messiah mandates a rejection of a life based on self-interest and self-fulfillment. The Messiah leads us to the cross. Struggling to love and serve our communities and our families can be a heavy burden to bear. Caring for an imperfect Church a love done in difficulty, or the sick and mentally challenged who have nothing to offer us in return is a yeoman’s task. The Messiah asks us to follow Him. Our job
is not to manipulate God into doing what we want. As Christians, we cannot believe that things happen by mere chance, each moment of conflict and of compassion is the place where Christ invites us to die and rise with Him for the cost of love. He goes before us.”
So I reflect on:
• I name the ways in which I believe I clearly live Jesus.
• Who are the people who formed me in my identity as a man or woman?
• Which faces of Jesus do I seek?
• If I was completely confident that I would receive eternal life with God, would my life be any
different?
Sacred Space 2016 states, “When questioned, Peter gives the right answer: ‘You are the Messiah of God.’ But this is mainly head knowledge as yet. He will later deny that he even knows Jesus. But at the lake he shows that his heart is at last fully engaged: ‘You know I love you!’”
Note that this event emerges from Jesus’ prayer. Luke thus gives us a hint that what Jesus says is of critical importance. Do I pray before important events, asking that I may be in tune with what God would wish?”