21st of February (English)

Gospel text

(Mk 8,27-33): 

Jesus set out with his disciples for the villages around Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He asked them, «Who do people say I am?». And they told him, «Some say you are John the Baptist; others say you are Elijah or one of the prophets». Then Jesus asked them, «But you, who do you say I am?». Peter answered, «You are the Messiah». And he ordered them not to tell anyone about him. Jesus then began to teach them that the Son of Man had to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. He would be killed and after three days rise again. Jesus said all this quite openly, so that Peter took him aside and began to protest strongly. But Jesus turning around, and looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter saying, «Get behind me Satan! You are thinking, not as God does, but as people do».

The Application

It is not that easy to respond personally a question of faith. And Jesus, understanding this difficulty, invites the disciples to look around and collect the information about him and asks them, how much they have personalised these information and transformed them in to a profession of Faith. Every faith formation has to undergo this process of internalization of what was outside and strange in to what is familiar and intelligible.  The conclusion can be erroneous, particularly in our concept formulation. Something is said or seen and something different is understood or perceived. Jesus is there to help us to go deep into our faith statements and correct it if necessary.

Though the Cross still remains as a scandal to our modern and contemporary world, which wishes to avoid pain and suffering, and desires only pleasant aspects of life, the just opposite is the truth of life. Jesus is certainly not proposing to us the cross or the suffering, because He has already won this for us. However, he is assuring us, once we learn to take these pains and sufferings, into a right perceptive, He is there to transform them, the water into wine. Thus any pain and suffering undertaken, to accomplish the divine will, He will transform them into an occasion of grace and benediction.

God so wished that the humanity finds the resurrection of the Lord, in the cross and death. Thus giving us the hope in every aspect of life. Though the human will has the temptation of avoiding the Cross, the divine will help us, not to avoid them, rather to face them with faithfulness and courage. It is here we will understand the divine love and mercy. It is here we will taste how much God is generous in forgiving and uplifting us. Let us confront courageously the difficult situations of life with the deep faith in the Cross and resurrection of the Lord and accomplish the divine will: SALVATION to all. The Lord is always with us. Before all these, let us have a personal answer to his personal question, ‘whom am I for you?’

«Who do people say I am?»

Fr. Joan Pere PULIDO i Gutiérrez 
(Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Spain)

Today, with the help of saint Mark's Gospel, we continue listening to God's word. A Gospel with a very clear concern: to discover who this Jesus of Nazareth may be. Through his texts, Mark has been offering us other people's reactions to Jesus: the sick ones, the disciples, the scribes and Pharisees. And today, He is directly asking us: «But you, who do you say I am?» (Mk 8:29).

We, Christians, must discover our identity and prove our own faith through being good examples with our life. This duty is an urgent task to transmit a clear and understandable message to our brothers and sisters, who will find in Jesus that Word of Life bestowing meaning to what they may think, say or do. But, this witness must begin with us being totally conscious of our meeting with Jesus. John Paul II, in his apostolic letter Novo Millennio Ineunte wrote: «Our witness, however, would be hopelessly inadequate if we ourselves had not first contemplated his face».

Saint Mark, with this text, offers us the right way to contemplate Jesus. First, Jesus asks us who do people say He is; and we can answer, with the disciples: John the Baptist or Elijah, in other words an important, good and attractive person. Certainly, a good answer, but too far away from Jesus' Truth. Then, He goes on asking us: «But you, who do you say I am?». It is the question of faith, of our personal implication. And we shall only find the answer in the experience of silence and praying. It is the faith path Peter followed which we should follow also.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us come to know through prayer the liberating presence of God's love, which is present in our life. He keeps on making alliances with us with clears signs of his presence, as that rainbow appearing through the clouds promised Noah.