Lk 9:18-22
One day, when Jesus was praying alone, not far from his disciples, he asked them, “What do people say about me?” And they answered, “Some say, that you are John the Baptist; others say, that you are Elijah; and still others, that you are one of the prophets of old, risen from the dead.” Again Jesus asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God.” Then Jesus spoke to them, giving them strict orders not to tell this to anyone.
And he added, “The Son of Man must suffer many things. He will be rejected by the elders and chief priests and teachers of the law, and be put to death. Then after three days he will be raised to life.”
REFLECTION
When Peter tells Jesus that he is the Christ, Peter is stating in other words that apart from Jesus no other Messiah is to be expected. Does our own faith sufficiently say to the world that Christ has come, that we should no longer expect another one? Without being aware of it, are we not often expecting the coming of someone (political or religious leader) who will usher in a golden age for the whole world, who will abolish taxes, double salaries, rebuild everything new, make religion easy, eliminate all suffering? But such dreams are dangerous, for they make ordinary life heavier instead of giving us the courage to transform it. The Messiah did not want to transform the world in a moment, like a magician, letting us play the role of passive spectators looking on agape. He has wanted to enter completely in the suffering of the world, bear our sicknesses, our sorrows, our crimes. And he invites us to actively become other Messiahs like him, by giving our lives for our brothers and sisters. This is for us the only way by which we can transform the world around us.
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