Monday, September 17, 2018

"But who do you say that I am?": 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Listen to the homily here.

Notes:

Today we have unbelievable communication
·      Telephone with a cord
·      Telephone without a cord
·      Cell phones
·      Emails, AOL, facebook, twitter, 
Now imagine what Jesus and his disciples were communicating what today we call Israel
·      Talking with each other, or sending messages via a camel, horse or donkey
Jesus and his disciples set outfor the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples,‘Who do people say that I am?’ They said in reply,‘John the Baptist, others Elijah,still others one of the prophets.’”
·      Now here is a question…how did this occur without technology that we have today?
·      In my mind, his name was going through village to village, the largest places (Jerusalem) and places like Caesarea Philippi
·      So, Jesus name was like a fire blown through people, knowing something new, and possibly the Jewish savior
So Jesus asked his followers his question, 
·      But who do you say that I am?"
·      Peter said to him in reply,‘You are the Christ.’”
o   This one word: Christ is huge
o   Now, Christ in Hebrew is mashiac, Greek, Christo, the anointed one, the messiah, the savior
o   God
Before my last question, listen again from Isaiah and Jesus spoke about Christ himself which was a pivot from what the Israelites and even the disciples thought was coming: a victory of Israel as a general, leader and power
·      Isaiah: “I gave my back to those who beat me,my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;my face I did not shieldfrom buffets and spitting…I have set my face like flint,knowing that I shall not be put to shame.”
·      Mark: “He began to teach themthat the Son of Man must suffer greatlyand be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,and be killed, and rise after three days.”
Today, I have heard similar things like the disciples heard: John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the prophets, but now I hear that Jesus is a prophet, a teacher, a philosopher, a guru, another
But like us today, “Who do you say that [Jesus] is”?
I believe that he is still Jesus Christ, our savior, who offered victory, not in a human war, not a rising in our jobs, not in winning for money
Jesus Christ open the door for true victory: our souls to make it to heaven




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