REAL FRIEND?
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mk 8:27-35
One day, I was having coffee with a friend when I spotted sitting in another table a classmate way back from the sixth grade. I told my friend, “That guy over there is my classmate in Grade Six. He is Rodney Cruz.” “Prove it,” my friend challenged me. “Go and say hello to him,” he continued. So I did. And guess who it was? Indeed, it was Rodney. One problem though: Rodney could not remember who Bobby Titco was.
When people we know fail to recognize us, we usually feel disappointed. We sometimes get irritated with people who do not get our name right. Wrong identification can be more than a laughing matter.
The question of who people say that we are is a very risky one. Thus, many avoid asking and answering it. Asking or answering it can touch a very sensitive part of the self. No matter how politely phrased, reports of what people say about us or how they see us can be disheartening and even alarming. What if the answers do not match our own self-understanding?
When Jesus asked His disciples who people say that He was, He took the risk of being disappointed. When He asked them who they say He was, He took an even higher risk. The people were wrong about who they say Jesus was. That was understandable because they were not as intimate as the Twelve were with Jesus. When Simon Peter answered Jesus’ second question, he likewise run the risk of being mistaken. But mistaken, Simon Peter was not. Indeed, Jesus is the Messiah.
Simon Peter was not mistaken about who the Messiah was but he was mistaken about what the Messiah was. He got a perfect score for knowing WHO the Messiah was, but a failing mark for not accepting WHAT the same Messiah really was. Like any Jew of his time, as well as ours, Simon Peter thought of the Messiah as one who would rise as a political leader to set Israel free from the oppressive rule of the colonial power. This kind of a messiah was expected to conquer the enemies of Israel with force, not one who was to be forced to carry a heavy, rugged cross. This kind of messiah was expected to rise victorious above the colonial forces, not one who was to rise from the ground, nailed on a cross, mangled and shamed. This kind of messiah was expected to live, not die. The problem is this kind of messiah was not Jesus.
Thus, Simon Peter could not agree with Jesus’ prophecy of what was to happen to Him in Jerusalem. Like anyone we commonly and easily take for a good friend, Simon Peter tried to deviate Jesus from His intention to proceed to Jerusalem. It was then that Jesus called Simon Peter Satan.
“Satan” is not a proper name, as your name and mine are. “Satan” means “adversary”. He is our enemy, one who leads us astray and accuses us before God after doing so. Thus, anything or anyone that hinders us from fulfilling God’s will is a Satan to us. Satan does not necessarily have to be something repulsive or hostile at first sight. Satan can be something attractive and friendly on the surface. Yes, a friend can be “Satan” too if he or she causes us to be out of focus in our desire and effort to obey God always, to place God over and above all things. Thus, Peter, though one of Jesus’ closest friends, was called “Satan” in the Gospel today.
Not all our friends who shield us from pain are true friends. There are pains that are necessary for us to endure because of our obedience to God. Over-protecting us from such pains is not friendship. It is “temptation”. A friend who tempts us is not a friend but a Satan.
Did Simon Peter really recognize who Jesus was? Or did he simply know who Jesus was? There is a big difference between knowing and recognizing. We may know someone but we may not recognize him or, worse, perhaps refuse to recognize him. We may know a friend but do we recognize God’s will for him? It is not enough to know a friend. Real friendship is when we recognize his God-given mission that defines who he really is.
Beware of Satan. Let us not be a Satan to anyone.
Do you really know me? Do I really know you? Do we really know Jesus?
Mk 8:27-35
One day, I was having coffee with a friend when I spotted sitting in another table a classmate way back from the sixth grade. I told my friend, “That guy over there is my classmate in Grade Six. He is Rodney Cruz.” “Prove it,” my friend challenged me. “Go and say hello to him,” he continued. So I did. And guess who it was? Indeed, it was Rodney. One problem though: Rodney could not remember who Bobby Titco was.
When people we know fail to recognize us, we usually feel disappointed. We sometimes get irritated with people who do not get our name right. Wrong identification can be more than a laughing matter.
The question of who people say that we are is a very risky one. Thus, many avoid asking and answering it. Asking or answering it can touch a very sensitive part of the self. No matter how politely phrased, reports of what people say about us or how they see us can be disheartening and even alarming. What if the answers do not match our own self-understanding?
When Jesus asked His disciples who people say that He was, He took the risk of being disappointed. When He asked them who they say He was, He took an even higher risk. The people were wrong about who they say Jesus was. That was understandable because they were not as intimate as the Twelve were with Jesus. When Simon Peter answered Jesus’ second question, he likewise run the risk of being mistaken. But mistaken, Simon Peter was not. Indeed, Jesus is the Messiah.
Simon Peter was not mistaken about who the Messiah was but he was mistaken about what the Messiah was. He got a perfect score for knowing WHO the Messiah was, but a failing mark for not accepting WHAT the same Messiah really was. Like any Jew of his time, as well as ours, Simon Peter thought of the Messiah as one who would rise as a political leader to set Israel free from the oppressive rule of the colonial power. This kind of a messiah was expected to conquer the enemies of Israel with force, not one who was to be forced to carry a heavy, rugged cross. This kind of messiah was expected to rise victorious above the colonial forces, not one who was to rise from the ground, nailed on a cross, mangled and shamed. This kind of messiah was expected to live, not die. The problem is this kind of messiah was not Jesus.
Thus, Simon Peter could not agree with Jesus’ prophecy of what was to happen to Him in Jerusalem. Like anyone we commonly and easily take for a good friend, Simon Peter tried to deviate Jesus from His intention to proceed to Jerusalem. It was then that Jesus called Simon Peter Satan.
“Satan” is not a proper name, as your name and mine are. “Satan” means “adversary”. He is our enemy, one who leads us astray and accuses us before God after doing so. Thus, anything or anyone that hinders us from fulfilling God’s will is a Satan to us. Satan does not necessarily have to be something repulsive or hostile at first sight. Satan can be something attractive and friendly on the surface. Yes, a friend can be “Satan” too if he or she causes us to be out of focus in our desire and effort to obey God always, to place God over and above all things. Thus, Peter, though one of Jesus’ closest friends, was called “Satan” in the Gospel today.
Not all our friends who shield us from pain are true friends. There are pains that are necessary for us to endure because of our obedience to God. Over-protecting us from such pains is not friendship. It is “temptation”. A friend who tempts us is not a friend but a Satan.
Did Simon Peter really recognize who Jesus was? Or did he simply know who Jesus was? There is a big difference between knowing and recognizing. We may know someone but we may not recognize him or, worse, perhaps refuse to recognize him. We may know a friend but do we recognize God’s will for him? It is not enough to know a friend. Real friendship is when we recognize his God-given mission that defines who he really is.
Beware of Satan. Let us not be a Satan to anyone.
Do you really know me? Do I really know you? Do we really know Jesus?
posted by Fr. Bobby @ 3:00 PM
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