The Real Face of Glory

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 9:30-37.

Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,
but he did not wish anyone to know about it. 
He was teaching his disciples and telling them,
“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men
and they will kill him,
and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” 
But they did not understand the saying,
and they were afraid to question him.

They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house,
he began to ask them,
“What were you arguing about on the way?” 
But they remained silent.
They had been discussing among themselves on the way
who was the greatest. 
Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
“If anyone wishes to be first,
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” 
Taking a child, he placed it in the their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me.”

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Reflection

Jesus was prophesying His Passion and Death to His disciples to prepare them for His moment of glorification. Sadly, the Twelve were blinded by their concept of glory they preoccupied themselves with ascendancy over the rest. Jesus’ message was lost in their ambitions.

Jesus then sat down, the pose for a teacher, to point out to them the real face of glory. Real glory is found in real service. It is the service epitomized in the image of the suffering Jesus on the cross. It a service that exacts the payment of one’s life. In dying on the cross, Jesus served everyone His life. The Twelve had to understand this well.

The Servant of all gave us an example of humility, a humility that can only come from a child, from the Son. For while he was at the top of the mount of Calvary, He did not sit there as King but one who was at the bottom carrying the weight of the world. The glory of God is found in Jesus’ service of love. Like He did with the Twelve, Jesus calls us to follow His example.

Personal and Decided Faith

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 8:27-35.

Jesus and his disciples set out
for 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." 
And he asked them,
"But who do you say that I am?" 
Peter said to him in reply,
"You are the Christ." 
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days. 
He spoke this openly. 
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan. 
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me. 
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the gospel will save it."

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Reflection

Different people take Jesus differently. Our experience of Jesus does not only shape our idea of Him but even our own biases may work for or against Him. Jesus wanted a personal answer from His disciples so He asked them, “who do you say that I am?” Christian discipleship is rooted in our personal conviction of who Jesus is.

Such conviction is needed because Christian discipleship is not a walk in the park. Ahead the path lies a long, thorny, and winding road, and on top of one’s shoulders rests the cross. A personal conviction on the identity of Jesus must lead to a personal decision to follow Him. We cannot be Christians by name alone, we have to be Christians through and through.

Jesus cannot just be a brother, a healer, a friend, a teacher or a prophet. He has to be the Christ for every Christian. This is the very revelation of His person. He is the anointed Savior who must undergo His Passion and Death in order to save us. His calvary cannot be separated from His resurrection. A Christian knows this, and thus follow Christ in death and in life.

Rituals, Openness and the Messiah

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 7:31-37.

Again Jesus left the district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,
into the district of the Decapolis. 
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd. 
He put his finger into the man’s ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
“Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!” —
And immediately the man’s ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly. 
He ordered them not to tell anyone. 
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it. 
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
“He has done all things well. 
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

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Reflection

There are Catholics who dismiss rituals in the Church. Those allergic to rituals in our liturgy should take note that Jesus was ritualistic too. When he healed the deaf man in today's Gospel reading, He accompanied the healing with actions. The act of healing was played out in discrete actions of touching and a verbal command to "be opened!" These rituals are prophetic signs - they point to a greater reality that is happening.

Prophecy in the Bible is not just about predicting the future but pointing to a reality that is beyond the physical signs we encounter. At its heart is handing down to people the Word of God, His will and message. Jesus today is depicted as the Prophet, who acts prophetically but unlike the prophets of old, acts in His own Divine capacity as the Son and Messiah. St. Mark presents Jesus as renewing Creation when he alludes creation story's "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good,"  (Genesis 1:31) with "he has done all things well," but also using Isaiah's Messianic prophecy (Isaiah 35:5) to say that the Messianic time has arrived.

The Messiah comes with great power and prophecy. He performs acts of healing: the deaf will hear and the mute will speak - a sign that He will overturn all evil in the world. Jesus calls us today to be open to Him, to unblock the ears of one's heart that we may hear, and to unfurl one's tongue that we too may prophecy in His name. For us who have been touched by God's grace, the joy of encountering Christ compels us to spread the joy of the Gospel.