Ken Overberg, S.J.

24th Sunday,  Sept 13, 2009
 
            We hear a strong Lenten note today. Our gospel selection describes the beginning of the second half of Mark’s gospel – Jesus’ movement toward Jerusalem, toward suffering and death.  Here in our scene at Caesarea Philippi, Peter professes Jesus as the messiah, but Mark’s Jesus tells Peter that there is much to learn yet – this Messiah is one who suffers.

            Our reading from Second Isaiah sets the tone, giving us the third of the Suffering Servant songs.  The identity of the Servant remains unknown – perhaps the prophet or maybe the faithful of Israel.  This passage was written more than 500 years before Jesus.

            Meanwhile, we are still reading the letter of James, with its firm emphasis on action.

            Before we hear God’s word, it may be helpful to reflect on the mystery of God and suffering.  Surely in Jesus’ time there was an expectation of a messiah. But this messiah was to be successful, a powerful political winner.  Jesus was not.  His first followers had to deal with the fact of his terrible execution. So they searched their Scriptures to find light to help interpret their experience.

            In the Psalms, in the Suffering Servant passages, and in other texts of the Hebrew Scriptures they did find help, that colored and shaped their own stories (as in today’s gospel).  Not all interpretation, however, and certainly not all pieties have faithfully reflected the God revealed by Jesus. This God is a God of life and love, of compassion and justice and nonviolence.  In no way could this God demand the suffering, torture and death of Jesus.  The Powers did that – and still do.  Faithful disciples face the cross in the dramatic and in the ordinary. The God of Jesus surely does not desire this, but instead leads us as individuals and as community in resisting evil.

            We may need to transform familiar images, songs, and words – redemption, sacrifice, the cross, for example – into concepts that better fit Jesus’ experience of God.  We may need renewed ears and hearts to hear and believe this Good News.
 
Let’s listen to God’s word!

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            The cost of discipleship.  Faithfully proclaiming and living in the reign of God leads to suffering. The Powers see to it.  It happened to Jesus and to Mark’s community.  It happened to the martyrs throughout the ages.  It happens to us, just in everyday ways:

            --the tension in our hearts and families generated by living in a consumer society flooded with advertising;

            --the temptation promoted by politics and media to solve difficult situations with violence;

            --the sadness of confronting the polarization in a community of believers who all profess trust in God;

            --the challenge of feeding the hungry in a world that ignores the common good;

            --the pain of encountering the dark mystery of illness of all kinds.

            What to do?  How do we respond?   Jesus has certainly offered us the way:

            --radical trust in a compassionate and present God;

            --forgiveness;

            --bold actions that break down barriers and old alienations;

            --solidarity and tender love;

            --and, yes, the willingness to accept the implications of faithfulness to his call.
 
            What is the cost of discipleship in your life these days?