This is the result partially of Fr Larry's homily and partally of my own thinking afterwards.
In
our Gospel today, Jesus asks the disciples who people think he is, and they respond John the Baptist, or maybe Elijah or Jeremiah, or maybe one of the other Prophets. But Peter is able with God's help to identify Jesus correctly as the "Christ, Son of the Living God". On Peter's faith and understanding, Jesus will build his Church for us. But, on thinking about it, this was a kind of strange question for Jesus to ask them, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
And the disciples' answers reveal that the people not only misidentified Jesus, but they were disappointed in him as well. They had expected a Messiah, a worldly messiah who would restore Israel to the power it had enjoyed under King David, kicking out the Romans and bringing riches and good times to everyone. Yes Jesus had healed a lot of people, and had changed some water into wine, but he hadn't done much of what they wanted him to do. He insisted on talking about compassion, and taking care of the helpless, and being generous, and other uninteresting things. So far as they could tell, he wasn't even particularly against poverty, or oppression, of suffering in this world, so much as he was concerned with a faraway kingdom which no one would see until after death.
So, what good was he, really?
And the disciples were very aware that all those named by the people, John, Elijah, Jeremiah, the Prophets... had been killed by the disappointed people to whom they had been sent. This must have made them a tad uneasy, and might have contributed to Peter's drastic mistakes in the next few verses.
But only Peter saw Jesus as he actually is, the Christ, Son of the Living God, not as even Peter himself must have wanted Jesus to be, and even that required help from God. Is God disappointed with us, that nearly all of us are so slow and mistaken about what is really important?
It's a difficult thing to see God as he actually is, and it requires God's help. Let us pray always for that help.
In faith, Dave
Viva Texas
dave@christos.cjb.net, dpeirce@christian.net
How can I serve you, Lord? Where can I sing your praises? I am your song.