September 15, 2024; 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

Readings: Is. 50:5-9; Jas. 2:14-18; Mk. 8:27-35 

In the Cross is our Salvation.

1.    The Cross represents pain, suffering, difficulties, sadness, and loneliness. Criminals were hung on the Cross to die a shameful and painful death. According to St. Paul, “‘Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree.’” (Gal. 3:13). Christ removed the curse associated with the Cross and made it an object of salvation for the world; therefore, “In the cross is our salvation.” We cannot go through life without experiencing some form of the Cross. Hence, Christ warns, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”

2.    There is a story of a man who wanted to follow in Christ’s footsteps. He got a cross the same size as Christ and went on a pilgrimage. But he felt the Cross was too heavy as he went along, so he cut off some of it. When he came to a river too deep to cross, he had an idea. He threw the Cross across the river, intending to walk on it to the other side. But the Cross was shorter by the piece he cut off, so his journey ended. We cannot claim to know Jesus if we run away from suffering. Christ did not run away from his Cross, but he embraced it, for it was through his Cross that he saved the world. As we say on Good Friday, “We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. Because, by Your Cross, You have redeemed the world.”

3.    Christ asked his disciples, in today’s gospel, who they thought he was. Was he one of the prophets like John the Baptist, Jeremiah, or Elijah? Was he just a miracle worker? A healer? A storyteller? Or a friend and lover of the sick? Yes! Christ was all that and more. Peter got it right. He was the Messiah—the Anointed One. The one sent for the salvation of the world. He answered correctly. But Christ had to explain his messianic role and what his mission in the world was all about. He is the suffering servant in the first reading. He will be beaten, his beard plucked, and he will be spat upon. He will rely on God for protection but will not run away from pain and suffering. Yes, he will suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and finally, he will die a shameful death as they will nail him to the Cross, the object of shame and disgrace. His kingship will be different from that of the world. He will reign supreme on the Cross, and by his Cross, he will save the world. Peter could not imagine this Messiah going through such ignominy. “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” (Mt. 16:22). But Christ stood firm and put Peter in his place, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” (Mt. 16:23). So, how do human beings think? They think of comfort, pleasure, leisure, and how to avoid pains and suffering, especially the Cross, at all costs!

4.    We are ready for the crown without the Cross. We want the glory without work, to pass examinations with flying colors without studying. We shy away from sufferings and pains but yearn for exulted positions. Christianity is not about having a life without pain and suffering; it is about being prepared for both. Christ shared good times with his disciples, but he also had his share of pain, rejection, and crucifixion. Many times, people have wondered why a loving God would allow us to suffer. We often wonder why we should suffer from sickness, hunger, viruses, and death. What is the place for suffering and the Cross in the world created by God? Why should children be born without limbs? What role do fire, earthquake, landslides, tsunami, and many other natural disasters play in the world while thousands are displaced or lose their lives? Why do we have so many gun violence in our nation? Why do we keep silent when so many young people are killed recklessly while our politicians lack the willpower to do anything about it? Why does one religion attack and persecute another in the name of God or Allah? We may not know the answers to these questions, but there are many more questions to ask. But pain and suffering have their place in the world.

5.    Our call to follow Christ, the suffering Messiah, demands that we be prepared to lose our life in order to get it back. Losing our life may not necessarily mean martyrdom, but it means dying to ourselves, our selfishness, and our pride so that we may live for Christ. Christianity is hard work. Hence, James tells us bluntly, “Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead!” Our faith must be alive and active. It means getting up and contributing our gifts of time, talent, and treasure to advance the kingdom of God on earth. If we want the crown of eternal life, we must not shy away from the Cross of our daily life. Let us pray that our crosses may not be too heavy even as we identify our suffering with Christ. Amen.

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP

September 08, 2024; 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

Readings: Is. 35:4-7; Jas. 2:1-5; Mk. 7:31-37 

He has done all things well.

In the first reading, Isaiah addressed the children of Israel during their captivity in Babylon: “Be strong, fear not! Here is your God he comes to save you.” They felt abandoned by God. They knew their actions brought disaster upon themselves by turning their backs on God. They were not faithful to their covenant with God. But Isaiah assured them that God would revisit them and bring them out of captivity. God would never abandon his people. God’s salvation is expressed in healing the blind and the deaf, the lame and the mute. “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the dumb will sing. Streams will burst forth in the desert, and rivers in the steppe.”

The gospel took up the theme of the presence of God in a broken world. Christ opened the ears of the man with a speech impediment. “He took him off by himself away from the crowd.” Christ’s compassionate act was a powerful demonstration of God’s transformative presence in the world. He did not want the man to be embarrassed by his defect but to experience the fullness of life. Christ did not just restore his physical deafness; he restored his spiritual deafness as well. According to Eugene H. Maly in ‘The Word Alive,’ “The physical defects are the result of sin, of alienation from God. The restoration of wholeness, then, means not only the physical cure; it also symbolizes the destruction of evil, the renewed presence of the saving God.” This is the hope God’s presence brings: the promise of transformation and renewal.

By opening the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf, Christ opened, not just his eyes but his mind and heart as well. The deaf can hear not only human words but also the Word of God. The lame can walk but also follow in the Lord’s way. A wholeness of the body without a wholeness of the spirit is broken wholeness. The evil that the Lord overcomes is not just the evil of broken limbs, but also of broken hearts. Hence “Jesus forgave the paralytic’s sins as he cured his sickness.” (Mk. 2:2-12). This is the new thing that God is doing in our world. “Behold I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Is. 43:19).

Our baptism is a call to proclaim the goodness of the Lord. Though Christ told those who witnessed the opening of the deaf man’s ears to tell no one, they did not obey him. Why? The answer lies in the word “proclaim.” We are told, “But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it.” Christ did not want the people to misunderstand the reason for healing the sick and restoring defects. He did not work wonders for applause. Neither was he a political leader. They, on the contrary, especially the deaf and dumb man, were announcing the good news (proclaim). Their ears were opened to hear God’s word, and their tongues were loosened to proclaim it. Something more had happened than just a physical healing. God’s presence was to be felt in and around them. This is a responsibility and a privilege we all share as baptized members of the community to proclaim the goodness of the Lord in our words and actions. 

Our Christian duties call us to open our ears to listen to people around us, to see them as human beings, and to help them as much as we can. This is not just a duty, but a call to missionary discipleship. Therefore, to fully participate in the life of Jesus and experience his goodness, we must open our ears and eyes to the plight of our brothers and sisters in the world. The plight of the deaf and dumb is our plight, too; their incapacities are ours as well. Their disabilities affect us and demonstrate the power of sin in the world.  Many of us are deaf and dumb – not physically, but spiritually. Do we open our ears to hear the stories of woes, sin, division, racism, and hurts around us and in our world? What have we done about it? Do we dismiss the inequalities, injustices, and poverty that are crying for attention around us? Because what affects one person affects the rest of us. We cannot isolate ourselves from the problems around us. If we close our eyes and pretend it does not concern us, we will fail the Lord in his hour of need. For he said: “So long as you did it for the least of my brethren, you did it for me.” If we spend some time in prayer, we will hear Christ calling us to pay attention to the needs of the people around us. St. James tells us to show no partiality as we hold on to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. We must not prefer the rich to the poor. Both should be treated equally.

Let us go to Jesus with our deafness; he will take us aside, touch us, remove our deafness, and loosen our tongues to proclaim his praises. We can spend quality time in prayer during the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on Wednesdays from 9:30 to 12:00 noon. He will also open our eyes to the needs of people around us, and his mercy will direct us to help them. Since the healing of the deaf and dumb demonstrates the compassion of Christ, may it also touch our hearts and allow us to be compassionate. Let us be more attentive to the word of God planted in our tongues and ears on the day of baptism so that we, too, may hear the word of God and proclaim it by our way of life. Amen.

Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP