24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
In Marks’s Gospel the ministry of Jesus falls into two parts. The first part builds up to today’s episode, Peter’s recognition of Jesus as the Christ or the Messiah: the second part is all about the road to Calvary.
In some ways it is like climbing a mountain; in the first half of His ministry, Jesus leads his disciples into a knowledge and recognition of who He is. Many people had been excited by the ‘phenomenon’ of Jesus. They had come to see Him to be Elijah, or John the Baptist or one of the prophets – a forerunner of messianic times.
Peter’s witness goes the whole way – ‘You are the Christ, you are the promised Messiah’. It had taken some time for this ‘top of the mountain’ moment. In the episodes recorded immediately before this the disciples witnessed many miracles of Jesus, they shared bread and fish with the five thousand, but still they doubted.
The episode of the healing of the blind man at Bethsaida, which comes immediately before today’s Gospel shows how Jesus had to gradually bring his disciples round to recognising Him for who He is. At first Jesus partially restored his sight; “I can see people but they look like trees …. So Jesus laid his hands on him again and then he could see clearly”. The disciples were slow in their climbing the mountain!
Then they reach the top of the mountain and Peter speaks for the others – they can see! This celebrates the first part of the ministry of Jesus. It seems like a glorious moment, but Jesus tells them to keep it secret. The people’s preconceptions of him in power and glory might result in them rejecting Him for not fulfilling their expectations.
Immediately after this Mark, as it were, has the disciples descend from the mountain and from celebration of this moment. Jesus begins to teach them of His destiny with suffering and death. And about this there is no secrecy – ‘He said this quite openly’. Not only that, but they were to have some part in this also.
Peter’s objections to the prospect of Jesus suffering was satanic, diabolical – ‘Get behind me Satan!’
“If you want to be my disciples you must take up your cross …. Lose your life”. It would mean renouncing self, repenting, be of service to others, rejecting success, power and gratification in this life. It would mean taking on the mind of Jesus Christ Himself. “Anyone who loses his life for my sake and the sake of the Gospel, will save it.”
The way of Jesus is the way of the suffering servant of the Father, the way of the Cross. And such too must be the way of anyone who would follow Him.
“Let everything that lives and that breathes give praise to the Lord”.