THE WAY OF THE CROSS

XXII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 16:21-27

In his own life, Jeremiah was a prophecy of Jesus Christ. He wrote about his experience as a prophet. He started by being attracted and seduced by God and then he had to wrestle with Him (Jr 20:7). It comes to mind the passage of Genesis, where we are told that Jacob had to wrestle with God during the whole night (Gn 32:22-32). Jeremiah recognised that in such a struggle, we cannot win, since God is the stronger one and he overpowers us. Jeremiah put himself totally at the service of the Lord. And he had to experience rejection and persecution because of faithfulness to his mission: “The word of the Lord has meant for me insult, derision, all day long.” (Jr 20:8). This is the fate of the prophets and that would be as well the fate of Jesus.

Jesus was well aware of what lies in wait for him. It was easy to see and to realise that his life was in danger. The religious leaders rejected him and started plotting against him. And Jesus was well aware not only of the fate of most of the prophets but also of the prophecies that spoke about the suffering of the Messiah.

Jesus decided to prepare his disciples for what was coming. He did not hide from them that, as they walked towards Jerusalem, he was walking towards his passion and death. However, they could not understand and they would not accept even the possibility of such an outcome. The outspoken Peter was very frank with Jesus: “Heaven preserve you, Lord;’ he said ‘this must not happen to you.” Peter cared for his Master and desired the best for him, so he thought. However, Jesus’ reaction was quick and puzzling: “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.” Jesus considered Peter’s words as an attempt to lead him astray and deviate from the Father’s will. That’s why he called him Satan and ordered him to get behind and just follow in his footsteps.

Jesus made it clear to his disciples that we cannot be his disciples if we reject the cross. Salvation is not possible without passing through suffering and death. Jesus’ way is the only way. We may try to avoid the cross at all costs, preaching a gospel that satisfies our desires for wellbeing and happiness, but the realities of life will prove to us our mistake. If we speak of salvation and believe in the resurrection, we must accept with Jesus that the only way is the way of the cross. 

LORD JESUS CHRIST, SON OF THE LIVING GOD

XXI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 16:13-20

We have passed just the middle of the Gospel of Matthew. By this time, following Jesus around, the disciples had already seen and heard a lot to have a fairly good idea about him. Indeed, if they were to continue Jesus’ mission, they had known the mission and the one who was sending them.

Jesus did not beat around the bush and went straight to the point. What did people say about him? Then and now, there are many different opinions about Jesus. Some even think that he did not exist, considering everything which is said about him as a myth. Others consider him as an extraordinary human person that left a big impact on human history. He deserves our respect like so many others of our ancestors, but we should not make him a divine being from whom our lives depend.

St. Peter, Parish Church of Tarouca

And then Jesus asked a second question, showing that he was not a populist and that he never cared for the approval of the crowds. If he asked the opinion of the people, it was to challenge the apostles to give their answer: “But you, who do you say I am?” This same question is asked to each one of us and Jesus expects us to answer. This question and the answer to it constitutes the heart (kernel) of the Christian faith.

Simon Peter was quick with his tongue and always ready to give his opinion. Without any delay, he answered: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” He had no doubts: Jesus was the Messiah, the One people were waiting for. However, like the other disciples and all the people of Israel, they had a very wrong idea and false expectations of the Messiah. Anyway, they were still learning and he would discover it the hard way. However, Jesus accepted his profession of faith, made possible by the Father who revealed him the truth. This simple profession of faith: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God, is the foundation of the Church, the rock upon which it is built. There is no Christian Church without this faith and we can find it throughout the New Testament. Jesus is the Son of God, he is the Saviour.

Let us ask the Lord to strengthen our faith.

THE GENTILES CLAIM THEIR PLACE IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD

XX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Isaiah 56:1,6-7

There is always the danger of reading the present back into the past, judging the past by the present. Many issues which define our time were irrelevant or even inexistent in the past. To understand the attitudes of past generations, we must situate ourselves in their own time and judge them according to the prevalent values of that time. There is a tendency to think of ourselves as the perfect and the holy who know everything and can judge everybody accordingly. Doing that, we incur in the same mistakes that we condemn.

The people of Israel were a small nation trying to survive, squeezed between the big empires, such as Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia and then the Greeks and the Romans. They were conquered and sent into exile. They could have suffered the fate of so many others, whose names disappeared from the face of the earth, but they survived, affirming their identity, which makes them different from the others. The big contributing factor for that survival was their faith in Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They considered themselves as the chosen of the Lord, the object of his predilection, who set them aside to be his people. With their customs and traditions, they set boundaries to isolate and protect them. Despite this, many of the prophets were able to look beyond their boundaries and to see God’s love for all nations. Isaiah makes it clear that the “foreigners who have attached themselves to the Lord to serve him and to love his name and be his servants” will be welcomed in God’s holy mountain. And God’ “house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.” According to Isaiah, God’s plan of salvation is universal and it is offered to all peoples and nations on one very simple condition: to serve the Lord and to love his name.

During this liturgical year, we read the gospel of Matthew, in which we find the presence of several foreigners as a sign of the universality of Jesus’ Gospel. Jesus presented his mission as being directed, first of all, to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Mt 10:6; 15:24) and he advised his disciples to avoid going to the “Gentiles” and they should “enter no town of the Samaritans” (Mt 10:5). It took time for de disciples to preach the Gospel to the gentiles. They had to be forced into it. And even Paul would go always in first place to the synagogues and preach the gospel to the Jews. Faced with rejection, then he turned to the gentiles. We see this kind of attitude in Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman. Matthew stresses the fact that she was a Canaanite, thus belonging to the first enemies of the people of Israel. After reading the passage (Mt 15:21-28), we remain with the impression that Jesus tried to ignore her and was even harsh with her. Some people try to read this passage, guided by the dominating ideology, along racist lines, accusing Jesus of being racist and misogynous. Together with the whole gospel of Matthew, this passage was used in the catechesis and it had nothing to do with race or misogyny. The woman accepted that she did not belong to the people of Israel and had no right to sit at the table. Being an outsider, she was like a little dog. Despite that, she claimed to expect a share in the food from the table. She would not go away without her share. Addressing Jesus as the son of David, she recognised him as the Messiah and, fulfilling the promise made in Isaiah, she comes to have her share in the Kingdom of God. Jesus granted what she asked for and praised her for her great faith (Mt 15:28). A few days before, Jesus reprimanded Peter for his lack of faith (Mt 14:31).

May the Lord strengthen our faith.

IN SILENCE AND PEACE, WE MAY EXPERIENCE GOD’S LOVING PRESENCE

XIX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 14:22-33

Throughout the ages, in many cultures, people experienced the sacred and the divine in the terrifying phenomena of nature, like earthquakes, volcanos, thunderstorms and tornados or hurricanes. God’s revelation in mount Sinai is presented in that way and people were so frightened that they remained at a distance, afraid of dying (Ex 19:21). 

In the first reading of this Sunday’s liturgy (1 Kings 19:9,11-13), we are told that the Prophet Elijah went to Horeb, “the mountain of God”, expecting to have an experience of God in those traditional lines. Then, he realised that God was not in the mighty wind, in the earthquake or the consuming fire. He experienced the presence of God in “the sound of a gentle breeze”, which soothes the heart, bringing peace and relief.

In the gospel, Matthew presents the apostles going through a similar experience, although taking place in a completely different setting. Jesus ordered his disciples to cross the lake, late in the evening, while he remained behind to pray. As they crossed the lake, they had a terrifying experience: first, as the boat “was battling with a heavy sea, for there was a head-wind”, they feared for their lives; then, as Jesus approached walking on the lake, they thought that a ghost was pursuing them. It is easy to see that what they went through did not facilitate any experience of God’s presence. On the contrary, they felt helpless and in danger of falling under the powers of darkness. The disciples in the boat are the Church, battling with the heavy sea of a world that rejects them and is intent on their destruction. Under such distress, feeling abandoned, they completely forgot Jesus. However, Jesus had not abandoned them and he spoke reassuring words to them saying: “Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.” Jesus’ presence brings peace, not fear. Emboldened by Jesus’ words, Peter dared to try to walk on the waters like Jesus, “but as soon as he felt the force of the wind, he took fright and began to sink.” Again “the force of the wind” was not felt like a reassuring sign of God’s presence but as a sign of danger from which we need to be rescued. Peter cried out for help, and Jesus promptly answered his call. “Jesus put out his hand at once and held him.”. Then, as Jesus entered the boat, the wind dropped. In that peace, which was granted to them, they recognised Jesus as divine, and worshipped him: “The men in the boat bowed down before him and said, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God.”

COME TO THE SPRINGS OF LIVING WATER

XVIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Isaiah 55:1-3

In the book of Isaiah, we can find many beautiful passages which raise our spirit, as our hearts are touched by the hand of God, who fills us with love and hope. There are passages that can be read time and again as if we discover them for the first time.

In this Sunday’s passage, with a simple question, we are reminded of the poor and sorrowful situation which we find ourselves in:

“Why spend money on what is not bread,

your wages on what fails to satisfy?”

Indeed, most of the times, when we have a few moments of silence and reflection to look at ourselves and evaluate our lives, we discover that our lives have been wasted and that we have worked in vain. We have spent our energy trying to achieve things that fail to satisfy us. Many times, it is as if we live in a state of delusion and slumber. As a consequence, we suffer from depression and enter into a situation of despair.

We may say that, through these words, the Lord reproaches us, because we looked for life, happiness and peace where there is none. In spite of that, in His love and mercy, the Lord is ready to come to our rescue and offer us free salvation:

“Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty;

though you have no money, come!

Buy corn without money, and eat,

and, at no cost, wine and milk.”

The solution to our disillusion and despair is in the Lord. And he takes the initiative, inviting us to come to him:

Pay attention, come to me;

listen, and your soul will live.

It is in the Lord that we may find life since he is the only one who can give us the bread of life and lead us to the springs of living water.

The gospel (Mt 14:13-21), with the narrative of the feeding of five thousand, presents Jesus as the one who comes to fulfil the promise in Isaiah. Jesus came to usher in the messianic age in which God fulfils his promise, establishing an “an everlasting covenant”, a covenant of love and mercy. In Jesus Christ, the love of God proves so profound that, according to Paul, nothing can separate us from “the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ro 8:39).