24th SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME SEPTEMBER 12, 2021

Readings: Isaiah 50.5-9, James . 2.14-18, Mark. 8.27-35

When people we know fail to recognize us, usually we are disappointed. We like people to get our name right, if only for the purpose of correct identification. Perhaps few of us would risk asking our friends, "Who do people say that I am?" Hearing reports of what people say about us por how they see us, however politely phrased, can dishearten us. Even alarm us. What if none of the answers match our own self-understanding?

When Jesus asks h8is disciples in today's Gospel, " Who do people say that I am?" the guesses all point to someone else, Elijah or John the Baptist or one of the prophets, In contrast to what others think, Peter speaks on behalf of the disciples who have shared Jesus' life intimately; he identifies Jesus as the Christ. Jesus is not numbered among those pointing to the Messiah; he is the Messiah.

The secret of hi strue identity will be revealed in his passion. The cross will uncover the truth of who he really is. The future of suffering is what peter denies has to happen. he strongly objects to what Jesus has said. Peter want his Messiah strong and victorious and invulnerable. But Jesus rejects the idea of a future free from suffering; je rejects the God of Peter's dreams. A God who sis a stranger to suffering and rejection is the invention of Satan. God will permit himself, in his Son, to be wounded and rejected and slain. Jesus is determined to suffer for the sorrows of others: to understand that is to understand the uniqueness of his being.

When the passion of Jesus gets under way, Peter will deny his master " I do not know the man." Only later will Peter fully understand the depth of meaning in what Jesus says. in the meantime, Jesus calls the crowd and the disciples to him and says, " If anyone what to be a follower on mine..." Jesus compels no one, not even his disciples, to follow him on the r9oad of suffering. If they do, if we do, denial of self is the first requisite. That is essential if we are to take our cross upon ourselves and share Christ's passion in the world.

The cross of Jesus was for Jesus alone. No one is expected to carry the burden that lay on him alone. Jesus invites us to take up our own crosses, the weight of suffering which comes our way when we follow in his footsteps. The Son of man has gone before us, and in following his way we find our community with God. As Jesus' true identity was revealed in the story of the Son of Man, so our true identity is uncovered when we become the followers of the Son of Man. in the Language of the letter of St. James, that happens when we put our faith to work. Our faith is tested in the real world, and reality comes to us often in the shape of a cross. In taking it up, in accepting its burden, we live up to our true name as Christians.