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_{24th Sunday of Ordinary Time
September 13, 2009} 

        By now most schools have welcomed students to the beginning of another academic year.  Next weekend we welcome back our CCD students, teachers and aides.  So there is an obvious connection with the opening of our schools and today’s gospel that has Jesus giving his disciples a preliminary quiz before we are told, "He began to teach them."

            Jesus' quiz asks two basic questions: "Who do people say that I am?" and "Who do you say that I am?"  The first question is easily answered.  Jesus' disciples included at least four fishermen (Peter, James, Andrew, and John) and one tax collector (Matthew).  These occupations provided ample opportunities to hear the marketplace reactions of people who wondered who this roaming rabbi, Jesus of Nazareth, might be.  They linked Jesus to John the Baptist whose fiery preaching was well known, and to earlier prophets like Elijah.  Jesus' reputation was an honorable one to be associated with such venerable spiritual leaders.

             The second question, "Who do you say I am?" is answered by Peter, the prime pupil: "You are the Christ."  The term "Christ" is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word "Messiah".  Peter is using a name that is complex in meaning.  Given the political situation at the time of Jesus, the messiah was the anticipated leader who would restore the power and prestige of Israel that had been destroyed by the invasion of the Roman army.  The messiah would regain the superiority that Israel knew during those good old days of King David, who had conquered enemies and established peace and prosperity.  The messiah would lead the people in singing, "Happy Days Are Here Again."

             How disappointed the disciples, especially Peter, were when Jesus promptly warned them not to broadcast this title.  There were no banners announcing, "Jesus of Nazareth is our New King David!" and "Jesus Wins!"

Jesus changed those anticipated "Happy Days" to "Sad Days" when he would suffer greatly, be rejected by Jewish leaders, and be killed.  Then he added, "and will rise after three days."  Those last words made no sense to all who knew that when you are killed, you fall down and stay down, you die and stay dead. 

Peter does not hesitate to challenge Jesus, to rebuke him.  After all, Peter had not left a fairly lucrative job as a fisherman to follow a leader whose destiny was doom and death.  Peter anticipated profit not persecution, winning not losing, and success not failure.  But Peter's rebuke only convinced Jesus that his disciples had much more to learn about his mission. 

He would have to teach them a little later that "the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mk 10:45).  For the time being he had to teach them the hard truth that "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it" (Lk 9:23-24).

After a fruitless effort to get volunteers for a service project, a Rotary Club president chastised his fellow members: "Being a member of this club requires far more than simply showing up at the meetings and reciting an oath each week!"  Again in light of our readings today, we can paraphrase: "Being a Christian requires more than showing up at church and reciting the Creed each week!"

If we advertise that faith in Jesus requires far more of us than simply showing up for Mass and reciting the Creed, we might have some trouble retaining old members and recruiting new members.  In fact, Christianity is having such problems.  Many Christians today want only "an inspiring service" on Sundays. 

Christians are tending to flock to churches which seem to have three things in common: fantastic music, uplifting, feel-good preaching, and no call to service.

We cannot passively wait in a pew for Christ to come again while only being entertained on Sunday mornings.  Faith requires something of us.  Jesus tells us that a true follower, a true disciple, someone who is far more than merely an admirer, "must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me."  Most people, however, don’t want to follow Jesus to Calvary.  Too hard!  Too much pain!  All of our concerns come down to the answer we give to Jesus' test question: "Who do you say that I am?"

What kind of Christ do we want?  How do you describe and define Jesus?  Is he a teacher who makes no challenges, who demands no hard work, who prefers to entertain us rather than energize us, who prefers pious platitudes to make us feel good instead of words that wrench us out of our apathy and complacency?  Is he a leader who is willing to let us plot our own course, or is Jesus the one who says, "Follow me"?  Does Jesus offer us a soft, warm and fuzzy cushion to sit on or a hard cross to carry?

As our new school year begins, each one of us has the opportunity to take a new class from our Christ of the Cross.  His cross is still the most constant and recurring image we have of the one who comes week after week at this Mass to teach us more of his principles and priorities.  He will come to help us with our weekly homework, our school work, and our employment work.  

Slowly, but surely, he will review and renew his immense suffering for us and his devastating death on the cross for us.  Finally, however, he will not just tell us the meaning of the words . . .  "rise after three days" . . .  but he will share his resurrection from the dead with us as we follow him to glory!