TWELFTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR C

TWELFTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR C (Zach 12:10-11, 13:1; Gal 3:26-29; Luke 9:18-24) Theme: The True Faith Has its Beginning in the Cross of Christ Reflection: Cross is the Foundation of Christian Faith - We are entering into the twelfth Sunday of the Ordinary Time of the Liturgical Year. Today the Church presents before us the reading which reveal the substance of our Christian life. The substance of Christian life is the FAITH. Although we are often ignorant of the essence of faith, we still call ourselves Christians because of various elements of Christian living. The prayer, the reading and reflection of the Scriptures, the participation in the Mass, the celebration of the sacraments, the obedience to the commandments of God and of the Church. All these elements demand for the attitude of faith. All these aspects manifest the presence of faith. It is true. Yet, for all these the starting point would be always the Cross and the Resurrection of Christ. The authentic faith has its beginning in the death and the glorious life of Jesus Christ. In other words, it is the Paschal Mystery which is the Foundation of Faith. - In fact, Jesus has come into the world not to live and live alone. He has come to die. He has entered into the world with the destiny of suffering and death. The Cross and the Calvary are the means to realize this destiny. Indeed, the mission of Christ has this destiny as the central point. Every single aspect of his life and action is viewed from the death on the Cross and the consequent Return to New Life. If considered from the human logic it surpasses the philosophical reason. It is to be considered from the divine love. God and his plan of salvation to the humanity is the starting point. It means that the entire episode of Jesus Christ and his mission is to be contemplated with the eyes of God. Otherwise, it is almost impossible to comprehend the Christ’s way of the Cross and to walk with him towards Jerusalem. The Cross, thus, is the central part of Christ’s existence and mission. Even the true Discipleship follows the same pattern. Every follower of Christ has to express his willingness to make the Cross the centre of his life. Here the truth is exposed: there is no Christ in the world without the Cross and there will not be any true Christian without the Cross. If we remove the Cross from our life, the foundation is removed. No house remains firm without the foundation. No Christian life can be sustained fully without the condition of the Cross. It is for this purpose, as Jesus we are all called to embrace the cross, not with the fear and obligation, but with the love for God and for others. - The Gospel passage of today highlights the centrality of Christ’s mission and the call to the Discipleship. Already, the contest of the text explains the importance of the Cross. Jesus is making his missionary journey. He is walking towards Jerusalem. All the novelty of God’s love he proclaimed with his words and manifested with his miraculous actions until now has to be finally testified with his personal life and witness. He walks ahead, without fear of course, to the final testimony of it: by embracing the world’s incomprehension and rejection of his message. In this context fall our gospel text. It has three principle divisions: Jesus poses a question to his disciples, he unveils the significance of the Christ and finally the condition of Christian following. Readings: Question of Faith from Jesus – The Response from the Disciples - The passage begins with the question of Jesus to the disciples. It is not any ordinary question but a question that explores the faith of the disciples. The question is double edged and double directed. It is double directed because it is posed to them but first about the understanding of the common people and then about their own understanding. “Who do people say that I am?” (v. 18). He wants to find out the general opinion of the people about his person and work. Disciples do not find any difficulty in responding to this question. They immediately bring to the attention of Jesus the idea of the people: that few think of him as John the Baptist, few others as the prophet Elijah and others as one of the antic prophets come back to life (v. 19). When a person begins working differently, in the innovative and new manner, it is quite common that people try to compare him with the great people of the previous times. Even in Jesus people start to see one of the personalities of the Old Testament. John the Baptist is just beheaded. People believed that he is a great man sent by God. The memories of him have not yet passed from their minds. It is easy for them to see him coming back to life. Elijah is one of the great prophets of the Old Testament who is thought to return to the world. Indeed, people are waiting for it; and when Jesus appeared with the promising presence, they see in him the return of the prophet they are waiting for. Finally, anyone who comes in the name of God and speaks with the divine authority is considered to be the prophet of God. When the people listen to the words of Jesus, they immediately see him as another prophet sent by God. This is the general opinion of the people. Jesus does not bother more about the common opinion. - He wants to know more. He wants to touch in profundity the very life of the disciples. His question of faith is directed towards the disciples now, very straight and very pointing: “But, what do YOU say that I am?” (v. 21). He is not interested in the general opinion of the common folk. He desires the personal conviction on the part of his followers. When he says “but”, he views his disciples far superior than the common people. They are fortunate and blessed to stay with him and listen to him personally and to be related to him intimately. The answer now he expects from them is to be quite different than theirs. Their answer needs to be the fruit of their intimacy with him. Now, Peter comes up with an answer: “You are the Christ of God” (v.20). Jesus must have been content with an answer. He said it well. His answer is exact. But Jesus’ immediate reaction is quite unnatural: he orders them not to refer this truth to anyone (v. 21). He forbids them to talk about this outside. But why? Because the meaning of Christ is not yet revealed. No one knows well the nature of Christ. Few are waiting for the Messiah who would come as a king and win the entire world and establish his kingdom. Others expect the Messiah to be the Priest who can offer to God a perfect sacrifice in the name of all the men. Few others consider the coming of Messiah as the prophet who can bring the justice and judgment of God to the world. All the considerations are true. yet, they are incomplete because of one missing element: Christ as the Suffering Servant. This meaning is not yet realized and it would take place only after a while with the his death and resurrection. Until then no one can fully understand who is Christ. Even Peter does not know this aspect when he utters the answer. It is here Jesus takes the occasion to reveal the meaning of Christ and calls the disciples to enter into the comprehensive understanding of his mission. Conclusion: Christ and the Cross are inseparable – Central Part of Christian Life - Jesus reveals the meaning of being “a Christ”. Christ is the one who undergoes suffering, death and enters into the resurrected life (v.22). His very life is not for living for himself but for dying for others: self-donation for the salvation of the humanity. Keeping aside all the classical meanings of the Messiah as the King, Priest and Prophet, Jesus unveils the actual and real nature of Christ as indicated by Isaiah: the Suffering Servant. By this he reveals that the true Christian mission consists in the unconditional obedience and the utter abandonment of the self to the will of God. He confronts the suffering out of his personal will. He sets out to meet (or to embrace) the passion of the Cross. Thus he completes the definition of the Christ: the one whose mission is to sacrifice himself for others. - It is the same mission that Jesus offers to those who wish to follow him. The words that follow the revelation of the significance of Christ make the call to discipleship evident. Jesus indeed says: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (v. 23). The conditions for the discipleship of Christ: denying the selves and taking up the cross. Denying the self and taking the cross are complimentary to each other and one completes the other. The first calls for the total abandonment of the self. No personal wishes. No private business. No hiding properties. The life becomes utterly open before Jesus. The disciples has to stand poor and needy before Jesus. He has to throw himself utterly onto the shoulders of Jesus. He is totally dependent on him. This is called the radical renouncement of personal life. The first is not full without the second. One has to enter into facing the suffering, the difficulty and the passions. There is no other way for the disciples except the way of the cross. Denying the self is not enough. It is only the first step. The second has to follow: he has to take up his daily cross. Jesus never promises a life of roses to his disciples. He pre-announces a life of thorns and a road of stones which leads up to the Calvary. As the Master, he himself does it first and concretely testifies it with his passion, death and resurrection. There is a demand for the radical challenge to live the daily life – with the cross of physical pains, psychological depressions, social evils and the spiritual struggles. Nothing to complaint. Nothing to murmur. Nothing to grumble. Everything is already announced. Christian life does not exist without the Cross. - Our faith consists in recognizing and accepting the Christ – Crucified and Risen. Today, Jesus invites us to respond to his question: who am I for you? Each one of us has to give an answer. Our answer is not to be just any of the public opinion of him. It should be A Personal Conviction of the Personality of Christ. It emerges not from the idea given by others but with the profound living of the mission of Christ. If we do not embrace willingly the cross, our Christian life becomes only superficial. If there is no cross on our shoulders and in our hearts, then we are not authentic Christians. We are only Christians by name, not by living. Then we become only actors, not the testimonies. We are called not to act but to witness the Christ through our words and deeds. In fact, Paul reminds us that we become children of God only through faith. Let us answer the question of Christ today: his question is direct and personal. It is for me first, for you then, and for all of us in general. All our life is only a research to answer this question of Christian faith. Let us search and research for an answer placing the cross before us because if cross is missing from our life than faith itself is missing. We are of Christ and Christ is within us and therefore, we are the people of the cross. The Cross becomes our Sign and Sacrifice becomes our Essence. Let us ask Jesus for the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so that we grow in faith of Jesus who suffered and died, and risen for us. Finally, we profess the mystery of faith in the Holy Eucharist: let us announce your death O Lord, let us proclaim your resurrection until you come. Mystery of faith, the Church reveals, is in the living and proclaiming of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ through our lives. Let us Live for Christ. Let us Dye with Christ. Let us Rise in Him.