What sort of image of Jesus do you have? Some of us may think of Jesus as a healer, miracle worker, teacher, rebel against authorities, activist against the unjust status quo, and many other images. In today’s Gospel, Jesus asks His disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" They respond to Him mentioning various prophets that represent important aspects of His mission, but nothing really captures who He really is and how He understands Himself. He tells them that He "must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days." Jesus’ self-image which contains suffering, death, and resurrection, was something which Peter found difficult to accept. Perhaps in his mind, he thought that Jesus would be some champion who would save the Jews from unjust authorities. Peter just could not come to terms with a suffering and dying Jesus. For this, Peter was criticised harshly by Jesus, even addressed as “Satan”, for he was “thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
What about us? Do we have a certain image of Jesus which seems rosy and nice? Are we aware of Jesus' true purpose and mission? Some of us try to think of Jesus in good terms, with a feel good factor, but Jesus came to save us from our sins, and also to teach us how to live as God intended, not according to the way we are comfortable in or the way some others think. Are we willing to set aside our thoughts and expectations, and try to understand and do what God expects of us?
No comments:
Post a Comment