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Today, I want you to consider two questions. Although these
questions might appear somewhat similar, they are very different.
And, in light of Jesus’
questions in the gospel,
that difference is what I would like to think with you about today.
The first question: “Who do people say will make the best President
of the United States of America?”
Okay, got that question and answer?
Now, the second question: “Who do you say will make the best
President of the United States of America?”
Okay, got that question and answer?
Actually, there’s a very wide gulf separating the subject of those
two questions. In the first question “Who do people say…”, the
subject is some nameless and faceless group. “Some say,” while
“others say,” yet
“some
others say.” We know nothing about the individuals in those groups,
other than that they responded to the question in various ways,
oftentimes as these responses are recorded in percentages. You
know: “44% of the people polled said…, while 43% of the people
said….” In our democratic culture, the majority rules. We
oftentimes take this to mean not only that the majority’s choice
wins—that is, emerges victorious—but also is believed to be the best
choice because the “collective wisdom” has won the day.
What we oftentimes don’t think about because our culture is so
democratized is that, while the majority may indeed rule, this does
not necessarily mean the best choice has been made. Many of us can
come up with names of candidates for public office who have lost
elections, but ended up being more correct in their policy proposals
than those who were elected to public office and implemented their
policy proposals. Likewise, many scoundrels have been elected to
public office and have been re-elected time and again in election
after election.
But, there’s something else—something more “sinister” I’d
say—implicit in the question “Who do people say…?” That sinister
element has to do with assigning responsibility when the majority’s
candidate does win and his or her morally erroneous policies end up
being implemented. The majority elected Hitler as Germany’s
Fuhrer, let’s not forget, as did the majority in Iraq elect Saddam
Hussein, Idi Amin in Uganda, and Robert Mugabwe in Zimbabwe. Sure,
the finger of blame can be pointed at the officeholder, as well it
should be. Yet, what is sinister is that, while the finger of blame
should be pointed at those individuals who comprised the majority,
the finger of blame cannot be pointed at them because they are a
nameless and faceless collectivity not individuals.
The reason this is so sinister, from a moral point of view, is
because moral responsibility is all but impossible to assign. Sure
the leader is morally bankrupt. But, just which individual (or
individuals) tipped the scales in such a way that allowed the
majority and its immoral policy to prevail in the person of this
“Dear Leader”? Viewed in this way, the group provides “cover” for
all of those individuals who made it possible for a morally
erroneous policy to prevail. Unless, of course, there is a Judgment
Day when all excuses will fall short of the mark.
In contrast, consider the second question, “Who do you say…?”
This question does not allow any individual the opportunity to hide
within the crowd. Instead, this question locates personal
responsibility right where it belongs by forcing the individual to
state precisely where that person stands on whatever the issue might
be. One benefit is that this certainly makes it easier to know
exactly where the finger of blame is to be pointed if (or when) the
individual’s candidate does win and his or her policies end up being
morally erroneous. Morally speaking, while the finger of blame can
be pointed at the officeholder (as well it should be), let us not
forget that the finger of blame is more appropriately pointed at
each and every one of those individuals who comprised the majority
and said through one’s political action committee, union, or direct
vote “I say….”
Suddenly, there’s no group or no place to hide!
Yikes!
In today’s gospel, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people
say that I am?” Their responses reported what nameless and faceless
individuals who comprised different groups believed. “Some say John
the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the
prophets.” Let’s ask the obvious: Who are those “some”? Who are
those “others”? It’s impossible to know. History alone knows the
answer to those questions. So, Jesus changed the discussion
when he asked: “Who do you say I am?” Matthew only reported
Peter’s response, claiming Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the
living God. This was a very important response through which Peter
confessed his personal awareness regarding Jesus’ true identity. It
was also a response that would change Peter’s life because Peter
would now have to translate his words into a concrete way of life
that would be shaped by his belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son
of the living God.
Jesus asked “Who do you say that I am?” not just of Peter and the
other disciples some two thousand years ago. Jesus also asks us
this same question today, for we also are his disciples. “Who do
you say that I am?”
What would we confess in response to that question?
Let’s think about some possible responses:
1. “Scripture teaches that you are….” That’s a great response if
only because it indicates that we have at least some familiarity
with scripture.
2. “The Nicene Creed teaches that you are….” That’s also a great
response also if only because it indicates that the person
submitting that response has been awake enough at Mass each week to
have heard what is stated (or to have stated oneself) what has been
stated in the Creed for almost seventeen centuries.
3. “The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that you
are…” Here’s another great response. It indicates an awareness of
Church teaching which, quite likely, would be something quite
extraordinary among Catholics today.
I’m sorry to report, however, that as good as each of these
responses may be, each falls flat morally speaking. Furthermore,
and more to the point, each is completely and utterly irrelevant,
morally speaking. Why? Because the subject of each of those
responses is both nameless and faceless. So what if scripture
teaches x, y, or z? So what if the Nicene Creed teaches x, y, or
z? So what if the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches
x, y, or z? Each and every one of us could offer those
responses and come across as quite knowledgeable of and conversant
with what’s printed in books. Yet, each response doesn’t confess
any personal awareness whatsoever regarding Jesus’ identity and what
this means in terms of changing our lives shaped by our belief that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
That’s why Jesus asks: “Who do you say that I am?”
Let’s think about two responses to that question offered by today’s
gospel:
1. “I say that you are the Christ….” Now that’s a super response!
It says, “You are the person who has saved me and to whom I owe my
entire life.” Notice that I can’t hide behind the crowd now. No, I
bear personal responsibility for the choices I make, that is, if I
say “You are the Christ.” With Christ as the leader, I must do what
Christ did and taught by his way of life and death.
2. “I say you are the Son of the living God.” That’s another super
response! It says, “I know it is through you, the Word of God made
flesh, that I shall discover the way, the truth, and the life.”
Notice how this response requires me not only to study and to learn
but also to live what Jesus taught, that is, if I say “You are the
Son of the living God.”
Like Peter, none of us can utter either of those two statements—none
of us can say “You are the Christ” and “You are the Son of the
living God”—unless God reveals what they mean. And, that’s the
challenge, my friends, because God has already revealed everything
to us. God has sent Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living
God, who is the “Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
So, as someone who confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
the Living God, Jesus asks today: What do you say about:
·
when life begins?
·
defending the rights of the unborn?
·
capital punishment?
·
what constitutes a marriage?
As someone who confesses that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the
Living God, Jesus asks today: What do you say about:
·
the economy?
·
poverty?
·
immigration?
·
the war in Iraq and Afghanistan?
·
the environment?
The answer to each and all of these questions is not, as one
candidate for President of the United States said last week, “Well,
you know, I think that whether you’re
looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific
perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is
above my pay grade.”
Whoa! Wait one minute here! No, I’m very sorry. That’s an
incorrect answer because in each of the gospels during the past few
weeks, Jesus concluded each of the parables by asking: “Do you
understand these things?” That is, Jesus wanted to know whether his
disciples grasped with their minds what Jesus was teaching his
disciples about God’s reign, what it means to be a disciple, and
what this required of them. What’s there “not to get” about
any of these issues to be able to confess, “I say…”?
That’s why in today’s gospel, Jesus asked, “Who do you say
that I am?” By doing so, Jesus was drawing his disciples out to see
where they stand, that is, whether they have the power of faith and
the courage of their convictions to confess—in public, where it
counts—what God has already revealed to them. “Just say it and stop
equivocating all over the place,” Jesus is telling his disciples.
It’s so very easy to be baptized and confirmed as a Catholic. But,
it’s an entirely different matter to live as Catholics must. What
Jesus and the Church teach is very difficult to accept, especially
in a culture where the majority of people have aligned themselves
against the Way, the Truth, and the Life as proposed by Scripture
and Tradition.
But, in these matters, there can no hiding in the crowd and public
opinion or compromise on moral issues. Why? Because the question
Jesus asked his disciples and is asking us today is not “What do
people believe?” but “What do you believe?”
Morally, our answer to that question reveals nothing about all of
those nameless and faceless people in the anonymous crowd. No, any
answer to that question reveals everything about us as individual
disciples of Jesus Christ. To confess that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of the living God—the Way, the Truth, and the Life that has
already been revealed to us—is to give up and, where necessary, to
reject everything that is not of Jesus Christ, despite what the
majority might say. Let there be no doubt about it: no one can
be Christian or Catholic and say “An answer to moral questions is
beyond my pay grade.”
Let us pray today that we might confess what has already been
revealed to us by our heavenly Father and be granted the courage
of the Holy Spirit we need not to give one whit for what all of
those “people”—perhaps the majority—might think about us for
confessing what we has already been revealed by Jesus Christ, the
Son of the living God who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. |
HOMILY
