NO PAIN, NO GAIN

Mark 8:27-35

In the Old Testament, there are some interesting themes  that are repeated over and over in book after book. One of those themes is the Messiah—the great one whom the Jewish people believed would some day come and lead them to victory over their persecutors. . A second theme is the Suffering Servant. Who was the suffering servant? A man or perhaps even a people who by suffering would be a kind of savior for the human race.

The people of the Old Testament never put these two themes together. Nor did the apostles and disciples of Jesus who were actually people of the Old Testament. They never thought there would be a single individual who would be both messiah and suffering servant. In today’s Gospel, Jesus shows that both images are fulfilled in him. He is the messiah, but he is also to be a suffering servant.     .

The scene that takes place in today’s Gospel happened about a year after Jesus began his public life. He had performed many miracles; He had cured people who were blind, deaf and lame, and even people who were lepers. It was natural that people would be curious about his real identity, curious about his goal in life. Everybody was talking about him.  And so he asked his apostles: “Who do people say that I am?” Isn’t it interesting that nobody thought he was a real live person. They thought he was one of the dead prophets who had been re-incarnated.  “Some say you are John the Baptizer, or Elijah, or another one of the prophets come back to life.”

All the more remarkable then, was Peter’s answer to the question. Without any hesitation he said, “You are the Messiah.” The one all of us have been waiting and praying for. And for the first time in his life, Jesus admitted it. Yes, I am the Messiah; but to keep them from thinking that he would lead an army to destroy the Roman rulers, he then told them clearly what was going to happen. I am the Messiah; I am the suffering servant too. I will endure pain.  I will be rejected by the chief priests and the scribes, and I will die a terrible death.

And here is where Peter, who had just made a brilliant observation, now makes the simple mistake all of us sometimes make. He tried to tell Jesus that he would not suffer crucifixion, because he was good. “After all, you are close to God; you have performed miracles; you have led a wonderful life; how could God possibly let you suffer?” And the answer of Jesus was “You are not judging by God’s standards, but by your own.”

How often that happens to us. We know someone who has been very close to God; then we see them suffer, we see them in pain, we see life ebbing away when they have so much to give. And we question what is happening. Sometimes we even complain to God and tell Him, “Lord you are making an awful mistake.” When we do that, it is well for us to read again this Gospel story; and it is well for us to remember the words of Jesus: “if you wish to come after me, take up your cross and follow in my steps…for whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”

We are called to be fools for Christ in our world. The challenge we face from today's scripture includes the understanding that living the Christian life demands that we make choices which may appear impractical and foolish according to human standards...and, that being a follower of Jesus may even mean that we are willing to share in his suffering and death. No pain, no gain