Most of those who followed our Lord had all kinds of personal ideas about who he was.
And only one of our Lord's disciples got the answer right, because it wasn't merely his opinion, but what had been revealed to him by God.
The people, when our Lord asked, who do the people say that I am, had many answers.
None of them were right, but they were their opinions and probably held with a certain imagination.
A certain amount of vehemence and attachment.
John the Baptizer, Elijah are still one of the other prophets.
And he asked the disciples, his immediate apostles, who do you say that I am?
And eleven of them did not answer, because apparently either they had no opinion,
or they didn't have confidence in the opinion.
That they had, weren't willing to say it in front of our Lord.
Peter, on the other hand, spoke up, not because his opinion was any better than theirs,
or because he had any greater confidence in his own powers, or his own insight.
But as our Lord said himself, doesn't record it here in Mark's Gospel, but in Matthew's Gospel.
Our Lord tells Peter that no man revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father revealed it to you.
Our Lord tells Peter that no man revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father revealed it to you.
Our Lord tells Peter that no man revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father revealed it to you.
And so, when Peter responded to our Lord, it wasn't an expression of his opinion,
or him asserting his own ideas before our Lord.
It was Peter responding to grace and to inspiration, to the power of the Holy Spirit.
And he was compelled to speak, because it was the truth.
And he was compelled to speak, because it was the truth.
And he was compelled to speak, because it was the truth.
And it was a truth that he had to submit to.
And it was a truth that he had to submit to.
And it was a truth that he had to submit to.
And it was a truth that he hadn't easily submit to.
And it was a truth that he hadn't easily submit to.
And it was a truth that he hadn't easily submit to.
Maybe theoretically he accepted what, who, who our Lord was, because it had been revealed to him.
Maybe theoretically he accepted what, who our Lord was, because it had been revealed to him.
Maybe theoretically he accepted what, who, who our Lord was, because it had been revealed to him.
Maybe theoretically he accepted what, who, who our Lord was, because it had been revealed to him.
But the practical consequences of having accepted this truth about our Lord,
But the practical consequences of having accepted this truth about our Lord,
But the practical consequences of having accepted this truth about our Lord,
wouldn't have, just a few minutes later, have told our Lord not to go to Jerusalem.
Our Lord immediately corrected it and said
just the exact opposite of what he had said a few moments before that in regard
to St. Peter's profession of faith. After
St. Peter remonstrated with our Lord, our Lord said,
you are not thinking as God, but as man does.
Because he was exercising his own opinion
again. He was trying to think his way out of
the cross. And the cross is not something to be thought our way
out of. The cross is something to be accepted
and carried with generosity and
with love. That's the difference between
just having faith and
living our faith. It's the difference between
having an
informed
opinion about many things
and having faith in the one
thing that ultimately matters, the source of our
salvation. And so all of us
are like Peter and stand generally
somewhere in between that theoretical profession
of faith and the practical application of that faith
and the difficulties that come
our way. And generally speaking, those things where we fail,
most often, are the things that are beyond our control,
or which ought to be beyond our control.
We reject the cross. We choose contrary to the will of God,
we choose sin. When in fact, what we ought to be
doing is accepting the will of God, as it is the
Son of the Living God. And the next moment, when it meant that he was going to die on his deathbed,
going to have to watch our Lord go to Jerusalem and be killed and die, that was too much.
It wasn't simply a theoretical ascent. It was a practical consequence. And it's those
practical consequences of our faith, of the promises that we have made in baptism, in
marriage or religious life, you know, the God taking us at our word. I mean, if Peter
really understood what he said when he professed his faith, you are the Christ, the Son of
the living God, then when our Lord turned around and said, the Son of Man must suffer
greatly and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and
rise after three days, there should have been no question. You are the Christ, the Son of
the living God.
So whatever you say is the truth. And whatever you say must be the best. It must be the most
perfect. It must be what will lead me ultimately to your glory. And it ultimately will be the
best for everyone. And that's where, you know, the translation of an act of faith in the
truth to the practical application in our lives, that's where we're going to be.
That's where we're going to be.
And that's where the rubber hits the road. And that's where it is difficult. And that's
what we can expect. We can expect there to be that challenge in the choices that we have
to make. That willingness to submit to things that are beyond our control. The willingness
to realize that it's God's power, not merely my calculation and my maneuvering things the
way I think they ought to go. That is ultimately what we're going to be. And that's where we're
ultimately going to win the day. It's going to be our carrying of the cross. It's going to be our
willingness to pour ourselves out as our Lord poured himself out. As our Lord continues to pour
himself out in the Eucharist, on our altars, in the holy sacrifice of the Mass. Where our Lord is
still vulnerable. Where our Lord still is subject to our adoration, or our whims, or our sinfulness.
Our Lord continues to pour himself out for us and place himself, you might say, in jeopardy.
It's up to us to serve him as he truly deserves. And we're in that state of jeopardy every
time we are challenged to overcome our selfishness, our self-centeredness, and our lack of faith.
Our practical lack of faith, which keeps us running from the cross, running from our duty, running
from the life of obedience, running from the embrace of the Lord, who wants us to be completely
free of our sins and selfishness.
but who asks us to put out into the deep
like he told St. Peter
and to accept the mystery of the cross in our lives.
So as we celebrate this holy sacrifice of the Mass,
let us pray that we see beyond
merely the liturgical forms and signs
and understand the meaning of those signs,
which is what our Lord preached to Peter
and which he found so difficult to accept.
Somehow we must enter into these mysteries
not only in a theoretical way but in a practical way
by truly carrying our cross
and lifting that up to the Lord
in union with his sacrifice on the cross
and in union with these sacred mysteries.
Amen.
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