From The Pulpit Homily for the Twelfth Sunday of the Year (C) (23rd June, 2013) Based on the Gospel. Zech 12:10-11; 13:1; Ps 62:2-6.8-9(R.v.2) Gal 3:26-29; Lk 9:18-24. If the only question a person was asked during an interview was to speak or write about someone close to him/her – may be father, mother, child, friend, spouse, and so on do you think that he/she will fail the interview? This might seem to be a very simple task but it might not be. Let us do an exercise here before we proceed: Think of who any person is. How much do know that person you thought about? Yet it is very easy to report what others said. Topic: Do Not Say What You Do Not Know In the gospel pericope, we read: “18Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, ‘who do the crowds say that I am?’ 19They answered, ‘John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen’” (Lk 9:18-19). Imagine the picture of what happened, how the disciples struggled to recall what people said about Jesus. From the answers to Jesus’ question, the unnamed crowd said a lot about Jesus. But when Jesus reframed the question a little: ‘But who do you say that I am?’ only Peter could speak. I will like us to reflect on this from two perspectives, namely: in relation to God and in relation to man. It will be difficult if not impossible to see any normal person of the age of reasoning who did not know anything people say about God. For instance, many will resort to catechism booklets. What people say about God might not be wrong. Each person looks at God from a particular perspective. Knowing what others said about Jesus makes no one a Christian but can help one to become a Christian. In the words of William Barclay: “A man might be able to pass any examination on what has been said and thought about Jesus; he might have read every book about Christology written in every language upon earth and still not be a Christian” (Barclay, W. (2006) The Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Luke. Bangalore, India: Theological Publication, p. 120). Jesus first asked his disciples what people said about him before what they themselves said. Every one of us suppose to move from what people said about Jesus to what he/she knows about Him. William Barclay went on to write: “Jesus must always be our own personal discovery. Our religion can never be a carried tale. To every man Jesus comes asking, not, ‘Can you tell me what others have said and written about me?’ but ‘Who do you say that I am?’ …. Christianity does not mean reciting a creed; it means knowing a person” (Barclay, 2006, p. 120). One might ask of the necessity of Jesus’ question. The mission of Jesus on earth is to save the world by making the world know the Father through Him. How can the world understand the Father if it did not understand the Son? In Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s gospels, this episode was followed by making the disciples know the type Messiah Jesus is, cf. Matt 16: 13-20; Mk 8:27-30; and Lk 9:18-20. If they did not know Him, his mission would have been a failure. Among the twelve, one might say that Peter was the first to become a Christian because being a Christian implies knowing Jesus personally and not just what others said about Him. In Matthew’s account of this episode (Matt 16:13-20), it was after Peter’s declaration that Jesus named him a rock (Peter) on which he would build His Church. It is necessary to go beyond what people said and written about Jesus. In relation to our fellow human beings, many do not know anything even about those who are very close to them. Some while speaking about others end up either saying what others said or what they think about them. Until a person goes beyond what people say and what he/she thinks about someone, he/she has not known the person. Many relationships have been ruined either because of what people said or because it was built on what people said or think. It is important to know who others are. Just as in the case of the disciples, it is always very easy to say what people said sometimes in a bid to win someone’s favour. Take time to know God, our creator and other creatures made by the same God who created us. Bible Reading: Matt 16:13-20; Jas 3:1-12. Silent Prayer: (How much do you know God and what do know about others?) Let us pray: Lord, help us to know you and other creatures as we ought and may our words always give you glory and bring happiness to others– Amen.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Jun 2013 03:36:40 +0000
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