ENTER INTO THE LIFESTYLE OF JESUS


First Reading: Is 50:5-9
Second Reading: Jas 2:14-18
Gospel: Mk 8:27-35

On this twenty-fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, we are called to embrace the lifestyle of Jesus. In the Gospel, Jesus enquires His disciples about what do people say about Him. Ordinary people who perceived Him as great preacher and miracle worker identity Him with historic persons or heroes of their history such as Elijah, John the Baptist or with any other prophets of ancient times. The disciples of Jesus, especially the Apostles – close circle of friends of Jesus – could recognize the identity of Jesus better than those ordinary people. Simon Peter, the spokesperson of the close circle of Jesus’ friends acclaim Jesus as the Christ; Son of God (Mk 8:29). In other Gospels, Jesus would reply to peter that the knowledge they (or He) have of Him as Son of God comes not merely from their human reasoning, but proceed from the revelation of God which they had received intuitively because of their association with Jesus (Cf. Mt 16:17). God the Father has given them the privilege of knowing who Jesus is. It is the Father who beckons every disciple to Jesus (Jn 6:44). As apostles, Peter and company are much more than God the Father’s summoning, they are chosen to be with Jesus and be sent out later to the world (Mk 3:14).

Immediately after the declaration of peter, Jesus starts revealing His upcoming passion, death and resurrection. Simon peter who could profess his faith in Jesus with the assistance of God the Father, fails to seek the same assistance in comprehending Jesus’ decision to be a suffering messiah. He refutes Jesus for choosing the cross, the shameful punishment of the Roman Empire to manifest His glory. Jesus replies to peter by calling Him a Satan (Mk 8:33). Jesus uses the word ‘Satan’ to chide peter not out of anger, rather purposely to make peter aware that the power of Satan is also at work in him. Jesus says that the thinking of peter is human not godly. What is wrong in thinking like human when peter is a mere mortal being? There is nothing wrong in thinking like mortal person. It is perfectly alright to think like human when one is a mortal being. Also, thinking like human person affirms the identity of that thinking person as human and distinct from other lesser beings in degree. Then why does Jesus belittle peter who thinks like an ordinary human person? yes, we are humans, we have our own way of thinking that is peculiar to our human nature. Having a thinking and forming a judgment that is in arrangement with our nature is not wrong. The problem with peter is that, his declaration about Jesus’ true identity as Son of God few minutes earlier did not proceed from his human thinking. If peter were to think like human, he also should have acclaimed Jesus just the way ordinary people were saying about Him. Peter’s profession of faith in Jesus as Son of God, was not mere a product of human cognition, rather an outcome of operative grace which gave ascent to his human thinking. As humans we are given a possibility to have recourse to divine grace which could take our human reasoning to another level and elicit better assessment. We are humans and contingent beings but we are not limited to reasoning that is proper to our nature alone. With the help of God’s grace – indwelling of the Holy Spirit – we can rise up to the level of thinking like God. And, we are called to become Gods; deification of humans is the goal of Jesus’ depreciation. Thus, we are called to enter into the lifestyle of God; thinking like gods is Christian, heavenly and other worldly.

In the second reading, St. James asks us to show our faith in action. Without works faith has no meaning, it becomes a superstitious belief. Our Christian faith inherently has the quality of explicating it in action. Jesus showed His faith in God the Father by embracing the disgrace of the crucifixion. In the first reading, we hear about suffering servant which is associated with future messiah that is Jesus. The suffering servant is not appalled by unjust suffering inflicted on him by humans. He has strong faith in God that he will receive justice from God. This suffering servant thinks like God, which could not be appreciated and chewed by humans. We humans get disgusted upon encountering suffering and pain. We prefer to choose the way that seem to relieve our pain. As author of our thinking we intuit the possible outcome. On the contrary, when we allow God’s way to take place in our life, rather allowing God’s thinking to overrule our human thinking we become restless because we are not able to predict the outcome as we are not the source of that thinking. Nevertheless, the outcome of Godly thinking is always good as it proceeds from God, the source of all good. When we realize this logic, we become calm and serene like the suffering servant in encountering pain and suffering. This is how we enter into the lifestyle of Jesus, who is not humiliated by the humiliation of humans. The denouncement of Jesus by humans could not yield the denouncement of Jesus from God the Father as His beloved Son. Jesus’ crucifixion is the expression of Jesus’ total faith in God the Father. Our faith will take into action when we embrace the lifestyle of Jesus.

Comments