Today’s question is a very personal one. You may need to think about your response for a while before you come up with an answer. My question is this: Does public opinion matter to you? Do you care what others think about you? People in the public eye are always concerned about how others view their actions. Politicians, in particular, continue to conduct public opinion polls as part of their re-election strategy. And the rest of us seem to delight in learning whether the latest poll favors either George W. Bush or John F. Kerry.
In recent years, both political parties have employed so-called “focus groups” to determine how segments of the population would react to proposed policy changes. Politicians then modify what they think is “best for the country” based upon what voters say they should do in order to be re-elected. We human beings seem to want to please others, to act as others expect us to act. Public opinion seems to matter.
It would appear from today’s gospel reading even Jesus, himself, was not immune to asking the question: “Who do the crowds say that I am?” He asked his friends, his disciples, to report on the latest opinion polls: what kind of a person do people say I am? What kind of a leader do they see in me?
And they told him some said he was like John the Baptist who preached about repentance for sins and about the coming of the holy one of God. Others said he was Elijah, the prophet who had been taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire centuries ago and who was to return to earth at the beginning of the final age, the age of the Messiah. Still, others weren’t sure if he were a prophet who came to foretell of the last days or one who actually ushered in the last days; but that he was, indeed, like the prophets of old who spoke on behalf of the Lord God.
But then Jesus asked a second question about how others viewed him. He was interested in how his personal friends saw him. What kind of a prophet and teacher did they see standing there?
They were silent. Except for Peter, who spoke for himself and perhaps for the other disciples. Peter said: “You are the Christ of God.” You are the Anointed One, the Chosen One of God. You are the Messiah. You are the one who was promised to lead us to victory.
● You are more than the one who predicts the coming of the final days:
● You are more than John the Baptist.
● You are more than Elijah who was to return to us in the final age.
● You are more than Moses who promised a prophet would come, who would be even a greater leader than Moses, himself.
● You are more than David, the greatest king ever seen by the Israelites.
But Jesus did not readily accept this response. Although he acknowledged he was, indeed, the promised one, he was not the prophet and leader they expected him to be. He would not lead them to a worldly victory over the conquering Romans. Instead he is the “fountain of purification” spoken of by the prophet Zechariah, whose message we heard in the First Reading for today. He said that he is the “son of man” described by the prophet Daniel. But most importantly, he proclaimed that he was the “suffering servant” spoken of by the prophet Isaiah.
He did not come to conquer but to forgive, to reconcile, to unite mankind, once more, with God, the Father. He is the one who says: “yes, you have broken God’s laws. You have done what is wrong. You have sinned. But I forgive you. God forgives you.”
Jesus told Peter that “the son of man must suffer greatly, be rejected … and be killed.” And then he added the event which those who heard him could not fully understand. He said that on the third day after he was killed, he would be raised again.
And then he made a statement which would destroy the results of any public opinion poll; that would not go well with any focus group. He said … “and you must do the same!” You have burdens to carry as well. You have your own cross to carry. However, he said that he would be there to help them, and us, to carry these burdens; that he would, in fact, make them light. That he, himself, would carry them for us, as the suffering servant of God.
And what is our cross; what are our burdens? Usually we think of them as parts of our life that make up our difficulties.
● the loss of a parent, a child, a relative or a friend,
● the loss of our health: physical, mental or spiritual,
● the loss of a job or of a valued possession.
And yes, these are difficult burdens to carry alone. The pain of carrying them can be made easier when we allow Jesus to help us, to be with us in our pain. And yet, I wonder: could the cross we carry be made up of other things, other conditions?
Do we also carry the cross of greed, of jealousy. The cross of a desire for wealth, position and power. Are we called to release these burdens? Perhaps the cross is, in fact, the difficulty of giving up, of releasing the burdens we carry? Perhaps Jesus is also there to help us set aside the burdens created by our own addictions, our dependence on drugs, gambling or other means we wrongfully use to stimulate our lives or in an ill-advised attempt to remove our self-inflicted pain.
Yes, our cross may be either the burden of loss or it may, in fact, be the difficulty which is part of letting go of what must be given up. Either way Jesus is here with us to shoulder that cross. We do not carry it alone. He is here with us.
And others are here to share with us the carrying of our crosses. Saint Paul in his letter to the Galatians reminds us that nothing can divide us
● neither our nationality nor our race,
● no matter how we earn a living or what our status in life might be,
● not even gender.
We are one in Christ. Because of this, we are able to move forward, together.
Jesus asked his friends the question: “Who do you say I am?” Each of us needs, of course, to answer that question about him. Each of us also needs to answer it about ourselves, because this answer also refers to how we carry the crosses we shoulder.
Today in the secular world, we celebrate Father’s Day. And so, some might respond to the question “who am I?” by stating: “I am a father” – with all of the subtle meanings associated with this title:
● I participate with another in the creation of a new life.
● I serve as a teacher and guide for others.
● I am a protector and sustainer of a family, those depending upon me.
Yes, these are some of the roles associated with fatherhood. But they are also roles which are essential in another response to the question we must ask about ourselves. The question: “Who do others say that I am?” does not require a public opinion poll. But the answer does involve other people. I would hope that the answer for each one of us is:
● “I am a true Christian.
● “I am an image of Christ for others.
● “I am a member of the body of Christ.”
With such a response, together, let us carry the cross of Christ.
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time: June 20,2004 (Fathers’ Day)
Zec 12:10-11,13.1; Gal 3:26-29; Lk 9:18-24