Jesus gets right to the point with his apostles who don’t want outsiders grabbing the glory that belongs to them as Jesus’ hand-picked assistants. Tell those outliers not to work miracles in Jesus’ name. They aren’t part of the franchise. But Jesus chides them for their smallness and reminds that the Spirit is always bigger than our group or our plans. God is free to pour out grace and power on anyone who will use it for good. Additionally, we find in the Gospel that God wants us to care for the weak, to sustain the little ones who believe in me. God asks us to live our faith, to nurture the vulnerable, not just talk about the faith or interpret it. This week with the presence of Pope Francis, we have beautifully witnessed to our better angels as a Church, to listen to our calling to be disciples of Jesus. Pope Francis has led the way. He witnesses to us the merciful love of Jesus. I have been so moved and so inspired by this simple, humble man of God. He as touched our hearts by his words and his life that so reflect the message of Jesus. He is the Vicar of Christ, and he is our North Star to a Gospel way of living. God calls all people to be part of the kingdom without making distinctions among groups, races, or nationalities. Pope Francis is our icon as a prophet of reconciliation and of peace. His message is the message of Jesus. At the interfaith prayer zero at Ground Zero, the youth choir sang so beautifully: “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.” Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with the faith community of St Joseph’s. Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with our faith and trust in God’s unending love for us.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus, who was normally surrounded by a multitude of people, successfully slipped away from the crowd in order to have some “one- on-one” time with his disciples. He knew that significant events were about to unfold and he wanted his disciples to be prepared. So, for a second time, Jesus explained to the “twelve” that he would soon be handed over to men who would kill him, and after three days, the Son of Man would rise! What were the disciples thinking as they argued about their greatness? They weren’t even close to thinking as God does. To put an exclamation point on his teaching, Jesus embraced a young child and said, “whoever receives one child such as this receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.” However when “you think as God does,” you will discover that the pathway to greatness, not only involves being a faithful follower of Jesus, but it means that you will reach out and help those who are most in need. And in the process it is a safe bet that your hands will get dirty, or that you might find yourself in uncomfortable surroundings, or you will fumble around looking for the right words to say as you attempt to comfort another.
From the Gospel, Jesus asked his disciples two questions: Who do people say that I am? Who do you say that I am? Peter responded: “You are the Christ.” Peter was right, but not right enough. Peter has the right answer, but not the right meaning. Peter had hoped that the long-awaited Messiah was to be regal, powerful, and a strong leader. Peter did not understand the words of Jesus that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected and be killed and rise after three days. Unaware, as yet, of the true nature of Jesus’ identity, Peter tried to set aside the unthinkable notion of a suffering Christ. Jesus was explaining to his disciples his upcoming suffering, passion, death and resurrection. For Jesus this is what the meaning of Messiah is, and this is the straight truth. Pope Francis in declaring next year an extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy places mercy towards others as the beginning and the center of the rule of life for the disciples of Jesus. Churches that do not open their doors to one and all are museums. Also, Pope Francis is emphasizing the importance of family life. Are families are holy, and all families are God’s beloved families. In God’s eyes, no one is ever lost – not through death, not through illness, not though sinfulness. Everyone is worthy of being immersed in the mystery of God’s love. The Scriptures today are teaching us about the meaning of discipleship. In what situations of life are you willing to embrace suffering as a means of embracing the cross in your journey of discipleship? Turning away from self-centeredness, we embrace other-centeredness and God-centeredness. May we restart our baptismal commitment by seeking to serve, rather than being served, and by our willingness to deny our self so that we can more fully embrace our discipleship of the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is nothing we can do to stop God from loving us. God is love. There is nothing hypocritical about God’s love for us. It is unconditional and unending. Yes, there is sin in the world. There is sin in our own lives. Sin is our failure to respond to the love of God. Sin is a failure to love. We are accountable for the actions of our life -- yes, yes, yes. But God never stops loving us. In the Scriptures today, Jesus challenges us to walk our talk, to be doers of the Word of God, to have a faith that is real and genuine and Christ-like. If we want to be disciples of Jesus, we need to make sure that our liturgical and personal prayer, indeed our whole lives as disciples, bear witness to God’s Word: revealed in Israel, made flesh in Jesus, and alive in the community of Jesus’ Church throughout all generations. The meaning of today’s Scriptures is that external observance of the law must be translated into inward commitment, but then the inward commitment must be translated back into outward charity. Jesus cautions us that our external observance of the law declaring our love for the invisible God must become visible in the love that we have for one another. Our words must be matched by our deeds; our rituals must lead us to develop compassionate hearts. During the coming Holy Year, Pope Francis wants to create a church of mercy, a more pastoral church, a field hospital for the wounded rather than a tribunal that withholds the sacrametns until people conform to the ideal. Jesus’ approach is not to deny the reality of sin, but to question the possibility of one person judging another. Only God sees the heart.