Homily for the Week of June 23, 2013

TWELFTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR, YEAR C 2013 Zechariah 12:10-11; 13:1 Psalm 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 Galatians 3:26-29 Luke 9:18-24 Most of us have filled out application forms. We are asked to fill out forms when we look for a job, apply for college, want to get a drivers license, prepare to get married, get a credit card, and many, many more applications. Each of these forms want to find out who we are. Very often we have to name persons who know us well, so that they can give information about us. We then give the form to someone else who will read it and may even ask more questions about us. If this is expected as part of our life, then why should it not be part of Jesus' life? And it was. Jesus was an unknown. Yet he was doing things that had never been done before, like feeding 5000 with just a few fish and loaves of bread, and then collecting baskets of leftover crumbs. They had seen him place his hands on sick persons, who recovered. They heard that he could read the most secret thoughts in a persons life. They wondered: is Jesus for real? If Jesus were living today you can imagine how often he would be interviewed on the news. Photos and articles would be in our newspapers. He would have a web site, a facebook account, a cell phone, and so forth. But inspite of all this I am certain that there would probably be no more persons who would know him than did 2000 years ago. Sometimes good news travels slowly. Jesus asks: WHO DO THE CROWDS SAY THAT JESUS IS? At the time of Jesus many in the crowd thought he was some man from way back who had come back to life again like Elijah and Zechariah. Some thought he was a popular man called John the Baptist. Then Jesus gets personal. He then asks: WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?. So Peter answers first. And Peter answers: You are the Son of God. Peter got it right. And after Jesus was known to be the real Jesus, then he could be treated differently, and those who claimed they believed in him would have to act accordingly. Jesus then goes on to tell a little about why God sent him to us. He tells us that he will suffer and be rejected and be put to death to rise again on the third day. Those who follow him will have to accept a similar pattern of suffering. What is asked of Jesus will also be asked of his disciples. More important is how we answer Christ's question. Who do we say Jesus is? Put another way, what is our image of Christ? What is our image of God? For some their image of God is a distant, punishing God who is always waiting to find out our faults and condemn us. Or for some God is an abstract concept with no relationship with real people. Or for many in the younger generations God does not exist. God can also be a close friend, loving and uplifting, particularly when I need someone to care. But does my God challenge me, asking me to live out the same pattern that we see in Jesus? And when God makes this challenge does God leave me on my own, or is God my companion on the journey, not asking me to do anything except what God has already undertaken? These are not always easy questions for us to answer, but we have to answer as honestly as possible because in doing so we are not just making a statement about God's identity; we are also making one about our own. It really does not matter very much if all we do is to give back what we know about Jesus but have no desire to live as he lived. Being a follower of Jesus is expensive. Jesus tells us the cost: IF YOU WANT TO BE MY FOLLOWER, HE SAYS, YOU MUST FOLLOW IN MY STEPS. WHERE I GO, YOU GO; WHAT I DO, YOU DO, HOW I LIVE, YOU LIVE. If you believe that I am the real Jesus, son of God, then you must be willing to be rejected and considered an outcast. Instead of listening to or telling stories that embarrass or destroy the dignity of human beings, you must refuse to participate in such talk. At times we are Christians of convenience. When it is convenient to take up the cross -- a small one, a light one. Paul tells us today in the reading that ALL OF US WHO HAVE BEEN BAPTIZED IN CHRIST HAVE CLOTHED OURSELVES WITH HIM. You and I are the body of Christ. ALL ARE ONE IN CHRIST. What happens after Baptism or a conversion is that we again doubt that Jesus is the real Jesus. Some answer they are Catholic because it is a good insurance policy, just in case. In doing so we treat Jesus as a John the Baptist or an Elijah or like someone come back from the dead. It is most important, however, that we not throw up our hands in the greater number of those who wrestle with or do not believe in God or Jesus or even in religion. Pope Francis, at his first press conference with members of the worldwide press corps, he gave a silent blessing over the non-Catholics and nonbelievers in the press corps telling them: I respect the conscience of each of you. To be a follower of Jesus means that we treat everyone with compassion and respect. To be a follower of Jesus means that we take the time to listen to those who do not believe in Jesus or in God. Doing this will provoke us to examine our own religious faith.