Overview:
Friday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
A Reflection for Friday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Once when Jesus was praying in solitude,
and the disciples were with him,
he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah;
still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’”
Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.”
He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone. (Lk 9:18–22)
Find today’s readings here.
People in Jesus’ day felt a strong sense of disquiet. Different groups described the disquiet in different ways. Some, like the Essenes, were perturbed by Roman interference in the Temple and its Priesthood. Some, like the Zealots, were more concerned with Roman interference in Israel’s governance and the taxes that sucked wealth out of the nation. Others, like the Sicarii, resisted the presence of Roman troops who caused trouble for average Israelites. Still others, like the Pharisees, looked with concern on the ever growing Greco-Roman social and educational institutions that corroded Israel’s ancient culture.
Many of these groups longed for God to act and pinned their hopes on an “Anointed”—in Hebrew, Messiah, and in Greek, Christos. God’s anointed would rid Israel of foreigners, secure its borders against the Romans, teach Israelites the true nature of the covenant and lead a purified worship in the Temple. Each group expected someone different. The Essenes wanted a priest like Aaron. The Zealots and the Sicarii wanted a military leader like David. The Pharisees wanted a prophet like Elijah. The strongly prophetic nature of the speculation in this Friday’s Gospel passage suggests that the “crowds” shared the expectations of the Pharisees.
No one got the Christ they were expecting. Instead they got Jesus of Nazareth, frame carpenter, healer and wandering preacher of forgiveness and generosity. He did not spend much time in the Temple, and when he did, he preached against it. He did not lead armies or enact a political program; instead he preached a kingdom of peace and righteousness unlike anything humanity had ever conceived. He did not reveal a new prophetic message from God; his prophecy consisted in a startling renewal of the message Israel had always known.
The Christ they received was a Messiah of humility and self-sacrifice. He recognized the evenhanded nature of the love of God, “who makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust,” and he made that universal mercy the foundation of all human community. In a world that understood a strong connection between inner belief and physical health, he taught a wisdom that had power over demons, illness and even death. He gave himself up in the Garden to save his friends from arrest and probable death, and on the cross he forgave his murderers.
Appreciating this Messiah is a challenge even today. A quick glance through literature in the public sphere reveals “Jesuses” who bring wealth, grant wishes, punish the infidel and luxuriate in the trappings of wealth and power. Today’s Gospel passage challenges us to remember that what we have in Christ is a wisdom that only God could reveal. Like Peter, all we can do is believe and trust.
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