First Reading: Isaiah 50:5-9a. Responsorial Psalm: Psalm.116:1-2. 3-4. 5-6. 8-9. Second Reading: James 2:14, 1-8. Gospel Acclamation: Galatians 6:14. Gospel Reading: Mark 8:27-35.
The setting of the first reading from the Prophet Isaiah is the Babylonian exile, which lasted until 587 BC. It includes one of the servant’s several descriptions (songs of the Servant). Christians frequently identify Jesus as the suffering servant. The servant has been endowed by the Lord God with a teaching language or a discipline that suggests constant daily contact. God called the servant to assist him in addressing any impending difficulties and speaking to the exhausted people.
However, the servant’s messages are not well accepted. Some had gotten accustomed to their life in exile and chose it over the unknowns of going back to the ruined city of Jerusalem. Furthermore, the concept of freeing their slaves would never sit well with the Babylonian rulers. While, like some prophets, the servant could have been able to flee the approaching calamities. He is scourged and humiliated as a kind of bodily punishment for carrying out God’s purpose; he does not flee. The servant was sent by God to deliver messages that were objectionable to people. Therefore, the servant could be inclined to hold the Lord responsible for his difficult situation.
Nevertheless, the servant acknowledges God’s assistance rather than placing the blame; he knows that God guides him, and thus feels neither guilt nor dishonor. He is able to bear hardship in the near term because he has a strong faith that God will ultimately vindicate him. The servant issues a challenge to a judicial duel, saying that no prosecutor need worry because the Lord has his defense attorney. Despite his suffering and shaping, he exhibits trust in the Lord. For this reason, he sets an example for the community of exile Israel to follow. Their optimism and confidence in the face of adversity comes from God’s assistance.
James presents an argument in favor of works over faith in the second reading from his letter. James makes a strong case for the conduct that follows genuine faith. Our religion is like a dead body without a spirit if it is dormant. James wrote to Christians who had come to see the grandeur of redemption via faith yet had a Jewish heritage. However, they then took the idea that nothing matters at all and went to the opposite extreme. For the Jewish people, fulfilling the mandate to love God and others required taking care of and providing for the impoverished.
The Scripture is filled with examples of God’s compassion for the poor and his judgement of those who treat them poorly. But our love for God and neighbor seldom serves as a testament to our religion. A transformation of heart is a sign of true faith and is manifested in deeds. Consequently, it is insufficient, even though it seems to be the most basic of Jewish confessions—that there is only one God.
They were to live according to his instructions. James speaks about the genuine gift of salvation that God gives us, not the deliverance from material foes, and how the acts that go along with it are not limited to spiritual matters. However, there is also a worry for the most fundamental necessities, such as food, shelter, comfort, etc.
A major theme in the Gospel of Mark is Peter’s Declaration regarding the identification of Jesus, which is discussed in the gospel that is taken from Mark. Jesus had fed five thousand people, cast out devils, and let the sick walk on water in front of the apostles. Peter expressed what many likely felt but were frightened to express: “You are the Messiah, the one God will use to deliver us.” This is the point at when the events undergo a traumatic shift. Jesus requested that his followers keep their true identity a secret since their interpretation of the term “Messiah” differed greatly from who Jesus was in reality. He didn’t want to be perceived as a political opponent by the ruling class.
Jesus consequently explained what it meant to be the Messiah—to be rejected, to die, and to rise again. Daniel’s vision of a “son of man” (Daniel 7:13) who was granted a kingdom and who represented all the saints is referred to as the “son of Man.” Jesus identified as this person who stood in for God’s oppressed people. In addition, he believed that he fulfilled Isaiah’s prediction that a servant would suffer on behalf of his people. (cf. Matthew 8:14–17, John 12:37–41, Luke 22:35–38, 1 Peter 2:19–25, Acts 8:26–35, and Romans 10:11–21).
Peter’s reaction supports Jesus’ suspicions since he wasn’t prepared to embrace a suffering Messiah. Although he gets the title correct, his interpretation is incorrect. He considered the concerns that regular people would have regarding safety and security as well as freedom from domination by foreign powers.
However, God has far more in mind than that. He sees a competitor more powerful than Rome, one that must be vanquished through hardship, atonement, and death. Peter is corrected by Jesus and put in his rightful position, by adopting a follower role as opposed to a leader. The purpose of this was to clarify the expectations for the disciples.
Cross-bearing and self-denial has a meaning that ultimately comes down to accepting a new identity; cross-bearing entails much more than patience or obedience; self-denial is not self-annihilation but rather a whole reorientation. Crosses are symbolic of rejection since those who wore them throughout the Roman Empire were rejected by society or by their leaders as outcasts or criminals.
However, real followers of Jesus will also encounter rejection from society; to follow him is to accept the same struggles and setbacks that he experienced. We’ll lose it if we concentrate on life in this day and age. But we shall live better in the future if we put our attention on Jesus, believe in him and accept his teachings. (John 3:16, John 10:10).
While the losses are temporary, the gains are everlasting. Like Peter, we are not always able to see clearly. For whatever we put our minds on, we see. We know what we wish to express. As a result, the big question before us which we must always reflect on is, “What is your mind set on?” Are you focused on finding things that are temporary here on Earth, or are you focused on finding things that last forever? I pray that God may give us the ability to follow him in all that we do, accepting our crosses with faith and demonstrating our faith in him by doing good works through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Rev. Fr. Godwin C. Ibe, Asst. Parish Priest St. Paul Catholic Church Airport Road Benin City.
