24th Sun OT
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
OLR, NOLA
There's
no way out of this. I'm sorry. But there isn't. Peter tries to get
out of it. And Jesus calls him “Satan.” I mean, we can get out
of it – get out of having to deny ourselves; out of picking up
our crosses – we can. But if I choose to avoid the painful parts of
following Christ, I will save my life now only to lose it later. .
.and forever. When Jesus asks Peter, “Who do you say that I am?”
Peter correctly answers, “You are the Christ.” Jesus isn't
playing a trivia game. He's not giving Peter a pop-quiz to check his
reading comprehension. Jesus is asking Peter – the Rock – to
choose his path, to choose the Way he will live and die and live
again. Peter chooses correctly. . .at first. After Jesus prophesies
about how he will suffer and die at the hands of his enemies, Peter
takes Jesus aside and rebukes him. Mark doesn't tell us why Peter
does this, but we can imagine. Peter loves Jesus. He doesn't want to
believe that the Christ, the promised Messiah will be tortured and
executed by those who hate him. Fair enough. But Jesus rebukes Peter
in turn, naming him “Satan” – accuser, betrayer, enemy. Like
many of us at different points in our lives, Peter is happy about the
idea of Christ but not so happy about actually following
Christ. . .following him all the way to the Cross.
So,
which will be it for you: the idea of Christ, or actually following
Christ? What's the difference? Choosing the idea of Christ means
thinking good thoughts about Jesus. Being content with the occasional
trip to church. Maybe wearing a cross or a crucifix. Hanging a framed
picture of the Sacred Heart in my home. Choosing the idea of Christ
might mean I can recite a couple standard Catholic prayers – “Our
Father,” “Hail Mary.” It means having a generalized sense of
myself as someone who identifies as a Christian. . .as opposed to
identifying myself as a Buddhist or a Muslim or an atheist. The idea
of Christ doesn't really change that much about how I live my daily
life; how I treat my family, my friends, my co-workers. It doesn't
influence my moral choices, or in any way disturb my material
comfort. In other words, by choosing the idea of Christ I can easily
slide into the flow of the world without stirring up any opposition;
without being seen as a problem for others. I can pass as a good
citizen of this world while thinking of myself as a worthy member of
Team Jesus, hoping that I'm never sent it to actually play. Choosing
the idea of Christ means privacy, anonymity; a life without
sacrifice.
Choosing
to actually follow Christ is quite different. As Peter and the other
apostles soon discover. It was the idea of Christ that moved Peter to
rebuke Jesus. To deny him three times in the Garden. It was actually
following Christ that put Peter on a cross in Rome, crucified upside
down. Following Christ means denying myself. It means taking myself
out of the center of life, replacing me with Christ. It means setting
aside my wants, my preferences, my “felt needs.” It means
removing from my heart and mind the choices the world has made for me
and putting on the heart and mind of Christ – the heart and mind of
sacrificial love. Following Christ means becoming alter Christus,
another Christ. It means picking up my cross – the instrument of my
suffering and death – and carrying it with me. Not as a reminder or
a punishment. But as a source of strength and perseverance. While the
idea of Christ leaves me to live in comfortable silence, following
Christ compels me to teach and preach the Truth of the Good News. I
am moved at the core of my being to shout about the Father's mercy to
sinners. To tell the world about the new life He has given me.
Following Christ is public, prominent; it is a life of sacrificial
love.
The
Church – the Body of Christ, you and me – the Church during these
dark days of scandal and public ridicule must double and triple-down
on following Christ. The desire to hide out and keep quiet in the
face of media attention is understandable. But if there was ever a
time for the followers of Christ to be publicly recognizable as such,
publicly committed to the Gospel, it is now. St. James tells us that
our faith is empty if we do not put that faith to work. If your faith
is a vague notion floating around harmlessly in your head, now is the
time to grab it and relocate it to your hands and feet and your
tongue. Put your faith to work, following Christ, getting behind him
and doing what he did, speaking out about the mercy you've been
given; teaching others about the freedom you've received from your
Heavenly Father. The Church as an institution that chooses the idea
of Christ is dead. It always has been and always will be. The Church
follows Christ. The Church – the Body of Christ – denies herself,
picks up her Cross, and follows Christ. Do not leave yourself behind.
Choose to follow Christ!
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