OT XXIV [B] (Sept 15) (Eight-minute homily in one page) L-24

Introduction: Today’s Gospel explains the basis of our Faith as our acceptance of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God and our Lord and Savior. It also tells us that Christ Jesus suffered, died, and rose again, to become our Savior. Finally, it outlines the three conditions for Christian discipleship, namely, denying oneself, taking up one’s cross, and following Jesus.

Scripture lessons summarized: Jesus saw aspects of His own life and mission foreshadowed in Isaiah’s Servant Songs. Hence, a large portion of the Third Song of the Suffering Servant is presented as the first reading today, while in the Gospel, Jesus foretells his passion, death, and Resurrection for the first time, in response to Peter’s profession of Faith in him as God’s Messiah and Savior. Like the servant described in today’s first reading, Jesus’ lived a life of radical obedience and conformity to God’s will. Thus, the Servant passage provides background for the revelation of Jesus as the suffering Messiah. In today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 116), the Psalmist invites us to turn to the Lord for help amidst the trials of this world. It is in God that we will find deliverance from trouble and relief from our afflictions. (Ps 116). Today’s second reading, taken from the Letter of James to the Church, reminds us that suffering is not only something to be accepted but also something to be alleviated. James explains how our Faith in Jesus, the Messiah, should help us to alleviate the sufferings of others by our works of mercy, both corporal and spiritual. In the Gospel, in response to Peter’s profession of Faith in Jesus as God’s Messiah and Savior, Jesus foretells, for the first of three times, his passion, death and Resurrection which lie ahead. Today’s Gospel consists of two sections: 1) the Messianic confession of Peter, who acknowledged Jesus as “the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the living God.” and 2) Jesus’ prediction of his passion, death and Resurrection, followed by Jesus clear teaching on the three conditions of Christian discipleship: “Whoever wishes to come after Me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.”

Life Messages: 1) Jesus wants to become a living, present Reality for us, loving us, forgiving us, helping us, transforming our lives and outlook, and building a personal relationship with each of us. The knowledge of Jesus as Lord and personal Savior needs to become a living, personal experience for each Christian drawing each of us to loving response. The relationship deepens and grows as we listen to Jesus through the daily, meditative reading of the Bible, speak to Jesus in our daily, personal and family prayers, offer Jesus our lives on the altar in the Holy Mass and seek reconciliation with Jesus, asking forgiveness for our sins every night and in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In the Eucharistic celebration today, we are celebrating and experiencing in our lives the death and Resurrection of Christ, the Messiah, our Lord and personal Savior.

2) We need to surrender our life to Jesus Whom we experience as our Lord and Savior: The next step is the surrender of our lives to Jesus Whose love we have experienced by rendering humble and loving service to others with the strong conviction that Jesus is present in every person. The final step is to praise and thank God in all the events of our lives, good and bad, realizing that God’s love shapes every event of our lives.

OT XXIV [B] (Sept 15) Is 50:4c-9a; Jas 2:14-18; Mk 8:27-35 (L-24)

Homily starter anecdotes: # 1: Baby powder and Christian powder: When Yakov Smirnoff, a comedian, first came to the United States from Russia he was not prepared for the incredible variety of instant products available in American grocery stores. He says, “On my first shopping trip with my friend, I saw milk powder; you just add water water, and you get milk. Then I saw orange powder; you just add cold water, and you get orange juice. And then I saw baby powder, and I thought to myself, ‘What a country!’” — Smirnoff was joking on a comedy show. But some televangelists preach just such “instant” Christian transformation, leading to eternal salvation. According to this belief, when someone surrenders one’s life to Christ, accepts Christ as one’s personal God and Savior and confesses one’s sins to Jesus, there is an immediate, substantive, in-depth, miraculous change in one’s habits, attitudes, and character and one becomes instantly eligible for eternal salvation. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as Christian powder, and disciples of Jesus Christ are not instantly born. They are slowly raised through many trials, suffering, and temptations. They are saved by their faithful and lifelong cooperation with the grace of God, given to all of us for doing good and avoiding evil and for obeying His commandments. In today’s Gospel, Jesus explains what his disciples should do: “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me.” [Adapted from James Emery White, Rethinking the Church, (Baker, 1997), p. 55-57.] (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

# 2: “Who do you say that I am?” When Christian Herter was governor of Massachusetts, he was running hard for a second term in office. One day, after a busy morning chasing votes (with no lunch break), he arrived at a Church barbecue. It was late afternoon, and Herter was famished. As Herter moved down the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman who was serving chicken. She put a piece on his plate and turned to the next person in line. “Excuse me,” Governor Herter said, “do you mind if I have another piece of chicken? “Sorry,” the woman told him. “I’m supposed to give one piece of chicken to each person.” “But I am starved,” the governor said. “Sorry,” the woman said again. “Only one to a customer.”Governor Herter was a modest and unassuming man, but he decided that this time he would throw a little weight around. “Do you know who I am?” he said. “I am the Governor of this state.” “And do you know who I am?” the woman answered. “I am the lady-in-charge of the chicken. Move along, Mister.” — In the above story, the governor and the lady-in-charge of the chicken, each tries to exert authority over the other by revealing his/her identity — who each is — and emphatically demanding,” Do you know who I am?” In the Gospel Reading of today from St. Mark, Jesus asks the apostles the same very question as regards His identity (“Who do you say that I am?”), but in a completely different context. For, Jesus was not exerting personal authority over them, but asking of these men who had shared Jesus life for an extended time a simple and straightforward question. (Fr. Lakra) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

# 3: Shakespeare and Jesus. It was the 19th century British essayist, Charles Lamb, who snatched the 17th century playwright William Shakespeare from his undeserved obscurity, returning him to the limelight of fame. Charles Lamb was once involved in a discussion on the question of who the greatest literary genius of all time had been. Two names finally emerged: William Shakespeare and Jesus of Nazareth. Lamb put an end to the debate when he said: “I’ll tell you the difference between these two men. If Shakespeare walked into this room right now, we would all rise to greet him, but if Christ came in, we would all fall down and worship.” — There is the essential difference between the Man from Nazareth and all the other great people you can think of. Jesus Christ is God, and all others, no matter what their deeds, are but fools strutting on the stage for a brief time and then exiting. Today’s Gospel describes who Jesus really is and gives us the unique conditions for Christian discipleship. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

Introduction: Today’s Gospel explains the basis of our Faith as our willing acceptance of Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God and our Lord and Savior. It also tells us that Christ Jesus suffered, died, and rose again to become our Savior. Finally, it outlines the three conditions for true Christian discipleship, namely, denying oneself, taking up one’s cross, and following Jesus. Jesus saw aspects of His own life and mission foreshadowed in Isaiah’s Servant Songs. Hence, a large portion of the Third Song of the Suffering Servant is presented as the first reading today, while in the Gospel, Jesus foretells His passion, death, and Resurrection for the first of three time, in response to Peter’s profession of Faith in Jesus as God’s Messiah and Savior. Like the servant described in today’s first reading, Jesus lived a life of radical obedience and conformity to God’s will. Thus, the Servant passage provides background for the revelation of Jesus as the suffering Messiah. In today’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 116), the Psalmist invites us to turn to the Lord for help amidst the trials of this world. It is in God that we will find deliverance from trouble and relief from our afflictions. Today’s second reading, taken from the Letter of James to the Church, reminds us that suffering is not only something to be accepted but also something to be alleviated. James explains how our Faith in Jesus, the Messiah, should help us to alleviate suffering in others by our works of mercy, both corporal and spiritual. Today’s Gospel consists of two sections: 1) the Messianic confession of Peter, who acknowledged Jesus as “the Christ (Messiah,) the Son of the living God,” and 2) Jesus’ prediction of his Passion, death and Resurrection, followed by a clear teaching on the three conditions of Christian discipleship: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.”

First reading: Isaiah 50:4c-9a, explained: In the middle section of the book of the prophet Isaiah, in chapters 40-55, there are four short passages which scholars have called the Songs of the Suffering Servant. In the original author’s mind, the servant was probably a figure for the people of Israel, or for a faithful remnant within the people. In their original context, the songs were probably composed to help Israel see itself in the role of the servant. Through degradation and suffering, Israel could become for the rest of the world God’s message of liberation and salvation. But Jesus saw aspects of His own life and Messianic mission foreshadowed in the Servant Songs. Hence, this section of the third song is presented as the first reading today, while in the Gospel, Jesus foretells for the first time (of three), His passion, death and Resurrection, after Peter has professed his Faith in Jesus as the Messiah and Savior. Jesus identifies Himself and mission with the sorrowful figure of humiliation and suffering, the Lord’s suffering servant. Like that servant, Jesus’ life is one of radical obedience and conformity to God’s will. Thus, the Servant passage provides background for the revelation of Jesus as the suffering Messiah.

Second Reading: James 2:14-18, explained: Today’s reading, taken from the Letter of James to the Church, reminds us that suffering is not only something to be accepted but also something to be alleviated. James tells us that our Faith in Jesus the Messiah should be expressed in alleviating others’ suffering through works of mercy, both corporal and spiritual. In other words, professing Faith in the Divinity of Christ as our Redeemer is useless, unless we practice that Faith in genuine deeds of the love, mercy, forgiveness, and humble service which Jesus lived and demonstrated. As Christians, we are obliged to meet the material needs of poor persons and to alleviate their sufferings. We should respond concretely to the needs and sufferings of our fellow humans. Otherwise, our Faith is all talk and no action: “Faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James is not refuting the Pauline doctrine of salvation by Faith but warning us that a lifeless or an unlived Faith has no power to save (v. 14) us from judgment.

Gospel exegesis: The context: This Sunday we begin a series of seven Sunday Gospel readings from Mark’s account of the journey of Jesus and the apostles from northern Galilee to Jerusalem. Along the way Jesus gave them instructions about His identity and what it meant to follow Him (discipleship). Today’s Gospel, relates the first of Jesus’ three prophecies of his coming passion, death, and Resurrection. This instruction consists of two sections: the Messianic confession of Peter, and Jesus’ prediction of His Passion, death and Resurrection, followed by a clear teaching on discipleship.

Two pertinent questions in a pagan pilgrimage center: In Matthew and Mark, Jesus asked two questions about His identity. The incident occurred at Caesarea Philippi, presently called Banias, twenty-five miles northeast of the Sea of Galilee. This city was founded by King Philip, the son of Herod the Great, to perpetuate his own memory and to honor the Roman emperor Caesar. It was situated on a beautiful terrace about 1150 feet above sea level on the southwest slope of Mount Hermon overlooking the Jordan valley. The city was a great pilgrimage center for pagans because it held temples for the Syrian gods Bal and Pan, the Roman God Zeus, and a marble temple for the emperor Caesar. Jesus realized that if the apostles did not know who He really was, then the entire Messianic Mission of ministry, suffering and death would be useless. Hence, Jesus decided to ask a question in two parts.

The first question: “What is the public opinion?” Their answer was, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” John the Baptist was so great a figure that many Jews, including Herod their king, thought that John’s spirit had entered the body of Jesus. Elijah, the greatest of the prophets was believed to be the forerunner of the Messiah. [“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes”(Mal
4:5).] It was believed that, before the people went into exile, Jeremiah had taken the Ark of the Covenant and the altar of incense out of the Temple, and hidden them away in a lonely cave on Mount Nebo; before the coming of the Messiah, he would return and produce them, and the glory of God would come to the people again (2 Mc 2:1-12). In 2 Esdr 2:18 (an apocryphal work), the promise of God is: “For thy help I will send my servants Isaiah and Jeremiah.” The phrase, “one of the prophets,” suggested that Jesus had a ministry like that of the former prophets. When the people identified Jesus with Elijah and with Jeremiah they were, according to their lights, paying Jesus a great compliment, for Jeremiah and Elijah were the expected forerunners of the Anointed One of God. When they arrived, the Kingdom would be very near indeed.

The second question: “What is your personal opinion?” For the first time in their relationship, Peter, speaking for the other disciples, declared publicly: “You are the Christ (Messiah) the Son of the living God.” Peter was the first apostle to recognize Jesus publicly as the Anointed One (also translated Messiah or Christ). Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew word Messiah.To say thatJesus was the Christ, the anointed one of God was to say that He was the Immanuel, the Salvation of God — God who became Man to save sinners! It is evident that Jesus was well pleased with Peter’s answer, for Jesus first pronounced a blessing upon Peter, the only disciple in the Gospels to receive a personal blessing. “Blessed are you, Simon son of John!” Next, Jesus confirmed Peter’s insight as a special revelation from God. “No mere man has revealed this to you, but My Heavenly Father.”However, Jesus was quick to explain to the disciples that, instead of being a political Messiah who would reestablish the Davidic kingdom after ousting the Romans, Jesus was the suffering Messiah who would redeem mankind by death and Resurrection. Like the Suffering Servant in the first reading, Jesus accepted suffering out of fidelity toward the One Whom He called Father, as part of the Messianic mission. Jesus’ example provides a challenge for us all to accept the mystery of the cross when our turn comes to follow the Suffering Servant and Suffering Messiah.

No suffering, no death, please: The Jewish religious tradition did include a certain amount of suffering and rejection on the part of its religious leaders. One finds this in several references to Moses and the prophets (Ex 16:2; 17:2-4; Jer 11:18-19; 20:7-10; Mt 23:37). The concept of suffering or self-sacrifice as having a saving effect was also present in the Jewish tradition (Ex 32:32; Is 53:5, 10, 12). But it received explicit expression in Christian Messianism, not only in the Gospels, but also in the Acts of the Apostles (8:32), and in the Epistles (Rom 5:6-8; Gal 3:13; 1 Pt 2:24-25). Jesus rebuked Peter when Peter tried to dissuade Jesus from such a course. For Jesus, this was yet another temptation in the guise of a close friend’s counsel. It tested Jesus’ commitment to the mission which His Heavenly Father had entrusted to Him. “Jesus rejected the term ‘Messiah’ if it meant a political, nationalistic leader. Jesus consistently rejected that program as a diabolical attempt to divert him from His God-given mission.” (Reginald Fuller).

The three conditions for Christian discipleship: To counter the opposition expressed by Peter and to emphasize the fact that Jesus was not the political, conquering Messiah of Jewish expectations who would bring perfect peace and justice, put an end to all suffering and death, and provide perfect joy and happiness in this world, Jesus turned to the wider audience of the crowd gathered with his disciples at Caesarea Philippi and emphatically declared the stringent conditions to be met by his disciples. “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.” Christian discipleship demands honesty of a disciple in order for him to practice self-control (“to offer our bodies as a willing sacrifice to God”), willingness to suffer, and readiness to follow Jesus by obeying Jesus’ commandment of love. A) Denying self: This means, with God’s grace, evicting selfish thoughts, evil desires and tendencies from our heart and filling it with God. In addition, also with God’s grace, it means cleansing ourselves of all evil habits, enthroning God in our hearts, and sharing Him with others. B) Carrying of the cross with Jesus: First, this means gracefully accepting that suffering without bitterness, as a part of our lives. Second, it means that we may not, in our suffering, pass on any bitterness to those around us. Third, it means that we must accept some other deaths before our physical death, that we are invited to let some parts of ourselves die. Fourth, it means that we must wait for the resurrection to receive the eternal reward for our suffering. A Christian life of service is carrying one’s cross in the footsteps of Jesus. Our sufferings become the cross of Jesus with its saving power when we suffer with Jesus by dying to our self-centeredness through serving others selflessly, enduring physical or mental pain and illness without complaint, and offering these sufferings to God in reparation for sin. We also offer penitential practices to God for the same intentions for ourselves and for the world. C) Following Jesus: This means that, as followers of Christ, we should live our lives according to the word of God by obeying what is commanded by Jesus. Jesus’ predictions about Christian suffering would have had particular meaning for Mark’s audience who would experience their fulfillment in both the horrors of the Jewish war against Rome and the persecution under Nero, when Christians were used as torches to light Nero’s garden.

Life Messages: #1: We need to ask ourselves Who Jesus is and what Jesus means to us. Founder of a religion? Revolutionary Jewish reformer? One of the great teachers? Son of God and personal Savior? This can perhaps be broken down into other questions: “How do I really see Jesus? Is Jesus a living experience for me, walking with me, loving me, forgiving me, helping me and transforming my life and outlook? What difference does Jesus make in my life? Have I really given my life to Jesus? Are there areas where I have excluded Jesus, where my life is not noticeably different from the lives of those who see Jesus as irrelevant? Who do we say that Jesus is through our daily life? Who do we say that Jesus is when we are in the presence of those who don’t know Jesus, those who aren’t interested in Jesus? What does the way we live and behave say about who Jesus is? Is the joy, the love, the peace that we find in Jesus reflected in the way we live our lives? We are gathered here today in the Name of Jesus. We have not come together to celebrate a continuing memorial for a merely good man who died long ago. We are here to celebrate the death and Resurrection of Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man, the Messiah, our Lord and personal Savior, in this Eucharistic celebration in which we encounter directly the Living God. “The salvation which Christ has already won for all is not yet complete. It must be accepted, embraced and acted out in the free lives of believers today.” (Catechism for Filipino Catholics).

2) We need to experience Jesus as our Lord and Savior and surrender our life to Jesus. The knowledge of Jesus as Lord and personal Savior needs to become a living, personal experience for each Christian. This is made possible, with the grace of God, by our listening to Jesus through the daily, meditative reading of the Bible, by our talking to Jesus through daily, personal and family prayers, by our offering of our lives to the Father through Jesus on the altar in the Holy Mass, and by our being forgiven by and reconciled with Jesus in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The next step is the surrender of our lives to Jesus through rendering humble and loving service to others, with the strong conviction that Jesus is present in every person. The final step is to praise and thank God in all the events of our lives, good and bad, realizing that God’s love shapes every event of our lives.

# 3: We should be ready to take up our crosses and follow Jesus. Do we have enough Faith to offer up a genuine sacrifice for Christ’s sake? Can a Church in today’s self-centered culture ask its people to sacrifice something for the sake of the Gospel? Jesus’ challenge to all would-be disciples requires more than a “feel-good” spirituality. A true disciple asks, “Am I willing to sacrifice something for the God Who loves me?” What made it possible for first-century Christians to choose a martyr’s death? What has kept generations of Christians from losing Faith and falling apart when confronted by the violence and hatred of this world? Can we offer even the day-to-day sacrifices asked by Jesus when they demand things we don’t want to do? Can we sacrifice some of our time in order to visit Jesus in a homeless shelter nusing home, or soup kitchen? Can we sacrifice our job security and refuse to “go along” with a policy that is unjust? Can we sacrifice our need to be in control and let Christ do with us what He will? Can we refuse to let our children watch television programs filled with sex and violence?

JOKES OF THE WEEK

# 1: “Who do you say that I am?” On Sunday morning a man showed up at Church with both of his ears terribly blistered. So, his pastor asked, “What happened to you Jim?”
“I was lying on the couch watching a ball game on TV while my wife was ironing nearby. I was totally engrossed in the game when she went out, leaving the iron near the phone. The phone rang, and keeping my eyes on the TV, I grabbed the hot iron and put it to my ear.”
“How dreadful,” gasped the pastor. “But how did the other ear get burned?”
“Well, you see, I’d no sooner hung up, the guy called back!” — He just didn’t get it. Lots of folks never get it and never understand how life really works, even at the simplest levels. That’s why Jesus is pressing His followers — and us with a challenging question in today’s Gospel: “Who do you say that I am?” (Msgr. Dennis Clarke).

2) “I see millions of stars:” The story is told of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson on a camping trip. As they lay sleeping one night, Holmes woke Watson and said, “Watson, look up into the sky and tell me what you see.” Watson said, “I see millions of stars.” Holmes asked, “And what does that tell you?” Watson replied, “Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Theologically, it tells me that God is great and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it tells me that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. And what does it tell you?” Holmes answered, “Someone stole our tent!” –Some people are great at speculative knowledge but when it comes to its implication for practical living, they score zero. Such is Peter in today’s Gospel.

USEFUL WEBSITES OF THE WEEK:(The easiest method to visit these websites is to copy and paste the web address or URL on the Address bar of any Internet website like Google or MSN and press the Enter button of your Keyboard).

1)Fr. Nick’s collection of Sunday homilies from 65 priests & weekday homilies:https://www.catholicsermons.com/homilies/sunday_homilies

2) Fr. Don’ collection of video homilies & blogs: https://sundayprep.org/featured-homilies/ (Copy it on the Address bar and press the Enter button)

3) Fr. Geoffrey Plant’s beautiful & scholarly video classes on Sunday gospel, Bible & RCIA topics: https://www.youtube.com/user/GeoffreyPlant20663)

4) Dr. Brant Pitre’s commentary on CycleB Sunday Scripture for Bible Class: https://catholicproductions.com/blogs/mass-readings-explained-year-B

5) Agape Catholic Bible Lessons: http://www.agapebiblestudy.com/

6) 6)The Catholic Information Service : http://www.catholic.net/ Where is it in the Bible? https://www.catholicbible101.com/thetencommandments.htm

7)About Catholics: http://www.aboutcatholics.com/ 8) Catholic Spirit: http://thecatholicspirit.com/ 9) Catholic culture: http://www.catholicculture.org/ 10) Vatican on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/vatican

34- Additional anecdotes:

1) Who do you say I am? Jeremy Bowen could not be more wrong, and Bono could not be more right! Bowen, the presenter of a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) documentary on Jesus Christ, said, “The important thing is not what Jesus was or what he wasn’t – the important thing is what people believe him to have been. A massive world-wide religion, numbering more than two billion people follows his memory – that’s pretty remarkable, 2,000 years on.” (Alex Webb, “Looking for the Historical Jesus,” BBC News Online, March 26, 2001.) On the opposite end of the spectrum, Bono, lead singer of the rock group U2, asked if he believes the claim of Jesus’ Divinity is farfetched, replied with this statement: “No, it’s not farfetched to me. Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: he was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually, Christ doesn’t allow you that. He doesn’t let you off that hook. Christ says: ‘No. I’m not saying I’m a teacher. Don’t call Me teacher. I’m not saying I’m a prophet. I’m saying: ‘I’m the Messiah.‘ I’m saying: ‘I am God Incarnate.’ So, what you’re left with is: either Christ was who He said He was – the Messiah – or a complete nutcase. [Michka Assayas, Bono: In
Conversation with Michka Assayas
(New York: Riverhead, 2005), p. 108.] Bowen could not be more wrong, and Bono could not be more right! Who Jesus is, what He said, and what He did are the foundation of Christian Faith. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

2) Larry King to interview Jesus Christ: Barbara Ann Walters, the first female evening news anchor on The ABC Evening News and ABC commentator on news specials, once asked the CNN talk show host Larry King, “If you could interview anyone in history, who would it be?” King replied with unguarded honesty: “Jesus of Nazareth.” Her next question was, “If you could ask him one question, what would it be?” After a brief pause, he responded, “I think I would like to ask him, ‘Were you truly virgin born?’ — because if He was, that would change everything.” Larry King was correct. If the accounts of the Virgin Birth and the bodily Resurrection of Jesus are true, then they change everything. It means that He was more than a man; consequently, His words are absolutely authoritative. It means that what He said about life and death, God and the devil, sin and salvation, and heaven and hell is true. — Today’s Gospel describes the great profession of Faith made by Peter recognizing Jesus as the Christ, the promised Messiah, and the Son of the Living God. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

3) “Who do Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Islam say that I am?” The first two groups claim to be Christian, and Islam speaks about Christ. But all of them have a confused Christology. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, more commonly called the Mormons, incorporates the Lord’s name in its title, but its beliefs about Jesus are fatally flawed. A basic compendium of the Mormon gospel, entitled Mormon Doctrine, was written by apostle Bruce Redd McConkie, an influential Mormon theologian. According to McConkie, Mormons believe that “Lucifer, the son of the morning, is our elder brother, and the brother of Jesus.” The Journal of Discourses, a 26-volume Mormon publication presenting public sermons by many early Mormon leaders, includes such statements as this: “Jesus, our elder brother was begotten in the flesh by the same character that was in the Garden of Eden, and who is our father in Heaven.” The same volumes assert, “Jesus was married at Cana of Galilee and had many wives … he also had many children.” From these writings, it is clear that the Mormons fail the test when it comes to answering Jesus Christ’s question, “Who do you say I am?” (v. 29). Ask the Jehovah’s Witnesses, “Who do you say Jesus is?” The Jehovah’s Witness publication, New Heavens and New Earth, declares by way of response, “Michael the Archangel is no other than the only begotten Son of God, now Jesus Christ.” Consider the religion of Islam. Ask the Muslim who Jesus is and the answer we get from official publications is “Jesus was no more than a mortal whom Allah favored and made an example to the Israelites. They are unbelievers who say God is Messiah, Mary’s son” (Sura 43:59, Quran). Until people see Jesus as Peter did, as “the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” they miss the mark. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

4) “She thinks I’m real!” A waitress at a restaurant was taking orders from a couple and their young son. The father and mother gave their luncheon selection and gratuitous instructions as to what was to be substituted for what, and which dressing changed to what sauce. When she finally turned to the boy, he began his order with a kind of fearful desperation. “I want a hot dog-” he started. And both parents barked at once, “No hot dog!” The mother went on. “Bring him the Lyonnais potatoes and the beef, both vegetables, a hard roll and . . .” The waitress wasn’t even listening. She said evenly to the youngster, “What do you want on your hotdog?” He flashed an amazed smile, “Ketchup, lots of ketchup, and-and bring a glass of milk.” “Coming up,” she said as she turned from the table, leaving behind her the stunned silence of utter parental dismay. The boy watched her go. Then he turned to his father and mother and with astonished elation said, “YOU KNOW WHAT? She thinks I’m real! She thinks I’m real!” [The
Pastor’s Story File (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651;
970-785-2990).] — When we answer this question like Peter, when we accept Jesus as the Messiah and Savior of our lives, then all that Jesus taught, all that Jesus promised, all that Jesus preached becomes real in us. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

5) “Voxpopuli, vox Dei”?: “Jesus asked them, ‘Who do people say I am?’ They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets’ ” (vv. 27b-28). “”i means “The voice of the people is the voice of God.” It is the foundational philosophy that stands behind every system of democracy that has ever been established. But, is it true? Are the people, always right? Indeed, we can ask, “Are the people, ever right?” Consider, for example, these confused determinations by people some consider “experts”: a) IBM: Thomas Watson, president of IBM, said when IBM unveiled its first computer, “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” Or, this: “We went to Atari and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got this amazing thing, built with some of your parts, what do you think about funding us? Or, pay our salary and we’ll come work for you.’ And they said, ‘No.’ So, we went to Hewlett-Packard, and they said, ‘Hey, we don’t need you. You haven’t even finished college yet.'” That was Steve Jobs speaking about attempts to get Atari and Hewlett-Packard interested in a computer model later called Apple! Imagine, computer giants like Atari and Hewlett-Packard missed it! b) Telephone: In 1876, an internal memo circulated among Western Union executives. It originated with the head of that company and read in part, “The so-called ‘telephone’ device is a fad. It has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value.” c) FedEx: Fred Smith submitted a term paper proposing the reliable overnight delivery of packages using a fleet of airplanes. His Yale business professor returned that term paper with a grade of ‘C’ on the top and this comment below: “This concept is interesting and well-written, but in order to earn better than a ‘C,’ the idea must be feasible.” Fred Smith left Yale and founded FedEx! d) Mrs. Fields’ Cookies: Debbi Fields pitched an investment banker to help her find funding for a start-up, mall-based cookie store called Mrs. Fields’ Cookies. The banker replied, “A cookie store is a bad idea. Besides, market research reports say America likes crispy cookies, not soft and chewy cookies like you are planning to make.” e) The Beatles: A Liverpool music group called The Beatles auditioned for a Decca Records’ agent in 1962. He told them, “We don’t like your sound. Frankly, guitar music is on the way out.” There are many more examples to demonstrate that the voice of the people – even the voice of the leaders among the people – is not guaranteed to be right or reliable. The majority is often wrong. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

6) A menu of sorts: In today’s Scripture lesson of a question and answer, we’re given a menu of sorts. We’re given a menu and then we’re to make a choice which reminds us of two restaurant orders. a) A woman went into a restaurant and ordered the breakfast special, “I want my pancakes well done,” she said. “You need to cook them all the way through and golden brown on both sides. Use the light syrup because the regular syrup is too sweet. Make the bacon crisp and thin, not oily or soggy and put it on a separate plate. The eggs must be over-easy, not broken or runny.” “And would you like butter or margarine?” asked the waitress. The woman answered, “Oh, it doesn’t matter; I’m not that picky.” (Parables, Etc.). b) A guest in an expensive seaside-hotel breakfast room called room service one morning and placed a breakfast order: “I want two boiled eggs, one of them so undercooked it’s runny, and the other so overcooked, it’s about as easy to eat as rubber; also grilled bacon that has been left on the plate to get cold; burnt toast that crumbles away as soon as you touch it with a knife; butter straight from the deep-freeze so that it’s impossible to spread; and a pot of very weak coffee, lukewarm.” The person taking the order said, “I’m sorry, sir, but that’s a rather strange and complicated order, and it might be a just little bit difficult to fill.” To which the guest replied, “Oh, but that’s exactly what you gave me yesterday!” [The Pastor’s Story
File (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651;
970-785-2990), February1998).] (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

7) “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” We must carry a cross to remind us that we are responsible in part for the cross that Jesus carried. When Rembrandt painted his famous work of the crucifixion called “The Three Crosses” which now hangs in the Louvre in Paris he did something most unusual. Among the faces in the crowd beneath the cross, he painted himself. That was his way of saying that he could not envision the crucifixion without admitting that he had a participation in it. Unfortunately, there are some who never see that. They identify with the Christ on the cross, rather than the Rembrandt in the crowd. –That haunting old Negro spiritual gives the refrain “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” The emphasis is on the you. If we were to be perfectly honest, we would have to answer, “Yes, I was there. Yes, I had a role in this.” It is only as we come to that understanding that we can then sing the last part of the hymn: “Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.” I must so identify with the event of the crucifixion as to see myself in the story. It is not simply His story; it is our story as well. That is why Jesus challenges us in today’s Gospel to take up our crosses and follow him. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

8) “Deny yourself and take up your cross“: The University of Chicago did a five-year study of leading artists, athletes, and scholars. Directed by Dr. Benjamin Bloom, the research was based on anonymous interviews with the top twenty performers in various fields. These people included concert pianists, Olympic swimmers, tennis players, sculptors, mathematicians, and neurologists. Bloom and his team of researchers from the University of Chicago probed for clues as to how these achievers developed. For a more complete picture, they interviewed their families and teachers. The report stated conclusively that drive and determination, not great natural talent, led to the extraordinary success of these individuals. Bloom noted, “We expected to find tales of great natural gifts. We didn’t find that at all. Their mothers often said it was another child who had the greater talents.” What they found were extraordinary accounts of hard work and dedication: The pianist who practiced several hours a day for seventeen years; the swimmer who rolled out of bed every morning at half past five to do laps for two hours before school, etc. [Dr. Denis E. Waitley, Winning the Innovation Game (New York: Berkley Books, 1986).] In another study, when the nation’s top achievers were asked to rate the factors they consider most important in contributing to their own success, hard work emerges as the highest-rated factor. Not talent or luck but hard work. Psychologists followed the careers of violinists studying at the Music Academy of West Berlin. By the time they were 18, the academy’s best students had already spent about 2,000 more hours in practice, on average, than had their fellow students. That is denying yourself and taking up a cross. Business Guru Tom Peters recalls a wonderful story of a musician, it may have been cellist Pablo Casals, who died at almost one hundred years of age. The morning he died he was downstairs practicing at 6:00 a.m. “That’s just lovely,” says Peters. — It is lovely, if being the best at what you do is important to you. — So we have a choice. We can heed part of Jesus’ words, “Deny yourself and take up your cross,” and have all the success this world has to offer. And there’s nothing really wrong with that. Jesus wants us to be the very best of whatever we choose to be, as long as it does not cost us our souls. There is a better way, however. Use Jesus as your guide – accept the rest of the quotation,”…and follow Me!” Follow Jesus. Deny yourself by giving yourself for others in Jesus’ Name. That’s where real happiness lies. That’s what ultimate success is all about. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

9) Through the Cross and a fellow-believer, he found the strength: Alexander Solzhenitsyn in his non-fiction, autobiographical trilogy, Gulag Archipelago, described his life in a Siberian prison. At one point he was so physically weak and discouraged that all he could hope for was death. The hard labor, terrible conditions, and inhumane treatment had taken their toll. He knew the guards would beat him severely and probably kill him if he stopped working. So, he planned to help them by simply stopping his work and leaning on his shovel. But when he stopped, a fellow Christian reached over with his shovel and quickly drew a sign of the cross at the feet of Solzhenitsyn, then erased it before a guard could see it. — Solzhenitsyn later wrote that his entire being was energized by that little reminder of the hope and courage we find in Christ through the cross. It was a turning point. Through the cross and a fellow believer, he found the strength and the hope to continue. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

10) The Cross symbolizes Faith, Hope and Love: The people of Lithuania take their cross-bearing a little more seriously than we do. For them, the cross symbolizes Faith, Hope, and Love. There are crosses are everywhere in the countryside, on roads, in city parks and village squares. Communities and individuals erect crosses to bring them health and to commemorate events like weddings, births and christenings. Crosses are also erected to commemorate historical events. One of these is the Baltic Way, in which millions of people linked hands stretching across the Baltics from Estonia to Lithuania on August 25, 1989. About 9 monuments commemorate this extraordinary event. The nation’s pride is the Hill of Crosses, located north of Siauliai. Lithuanians erected crosses there as early as the mid-19th century. The Soviet government couldn’t tolerate that kind of spiritual expression, so they totally destroyed the hill in 1961, then again in 1973 and 1975. But people kept erecting more crosses, until in 1980 their destruction stopped. Today the crosses number in the thousands. They are different sizes and shapes, some simple, some ornate, but they immortalize Lithuania’s troubles, misfortunes, joys, hope, love, and Faith. (Http://lithuanian-american.org/folklife/crosses.htm) For the Lithuanian people, the cross is more than a symbol in the Church. It is symbol for the world to see, a symbol that will not go away. It is a symbol of sacrifice, a sacrifice that gives each and every one of us Hope and Faith and courage. (Billy D. Strayhorn, At Cross Purposes). (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

11) “Those who lose their life for My sake, and for the sake of the Gospel, will save it.” When Communist forces invaded Vietnam in the 1950s, Hien Pham, like many Vietnamese Christians, was arrested and jailed for his beliefs. After his release from prison, Pham made plans to escape Vietnam. He secretly began building a boat. Fifty-three fellow-Vietnamese made plans to escape with him. One day, four Vietcong soldiers came to Pham’s house and confronted him. They heard he was planning an escape. Was it true? Of course, Hien Pham lied to them. If he had told the truth, the Vietcong might have killed him and arrested the other fifty-three people. — But after the soldiers left, Pham felt very uneasy. Had God really wanted him to lie? Didn’t he trust that God would provide for him under any circumstances? Even though it made no logical sense, Pham believed that God wanted him to tell the truth, even at the risk of his own life. So, Hien Pham resolved that if the Vietcong soldiers returned, he would confess his escape plans. Hien Pham chose to bear a particular cross, the cross of honesty. He chose to sacrifice what he had seen as “safety” for faithfulness. He finished building his boat, and his friends made the final plans for their daring escape. To their horror, the Vietcong soldiers returned and demanded to know if the escape rumors were true. Hoping against hope, Hien Pham confessed his plans. Can you imagine his surprise when those four soldiers replied, “Take us with you!” That evening, Hien Pham, his fifty-three friends, and four Vietcong soldiers made a daring escape under cover of night in a homemade boat. But that’s not the end of the story! They sailed straight into a violent storm. Pham reports that they would have all been lost, if it hadn’t been for the expert sailing skills of, you guessed it, the four Vietcong soldiers. The escapees landed safely in Thailand. Eventually, Hien Pham emigrated to the United States, where he made a new life for himself. [Ravi Zacharias. Deliver
Us from Evil (Nashville: Word Publishing, 1997), pp. 191-194.] He proved the truth of verse 35: “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and that of the Gospel will save it.” (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

12) “Get behind me Satan:” It’s encouraging to know that someone of Peter’s stature and importance in the early Church, could walk the walk so well with his foot in his mouth! What we have to remember is that Peter was human, and even the greatest of humans make mistakes. — Henry Ford changed the world. He changed how things are assembled, marketed and how we travel. But did you know he forgot to put a reverse gear in the first car he invented? Not only that, but he didn’t build a door wide enough to get the car out of the building he built it in. If you go to Greenfield Village, you can still see where he cut a hole in the wall to get the car out. (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

13) 12% of Americans are “highly spiritually committed.” According to research conducted by George Gallup, 12% of Americans are “highly spiritually committed.” They are those who truly understand what Jesus meant when he said, “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me.” Gallup says the members of this group are “a breed apart from the rest of the populace in at least four ways: 1. They’re happier. 2. Their families are stronger. 3. They’re more tolerant of people of different races and religions. 4. They’re community-minded.” — They’re involved in service to others. That is cross-bearing that really makes a difference. (Rev. King Duncan) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/).

14) “Where were you during the critical days of the struggle?” During the dark days of World War II, England had a great deal of difficulty keeping men in the coal mines. It was a thankless kind of job, totally lacking in any glory. Most chose to join the various military services. They desired something that could give them more social acceptance and recognition. Something was needed to motivate these men in the work that they were doing so that they would remain in the mines. With this in mind, Winston Churchill delivered a speech one day to thousands of coal miners, stressing to them the importance of their role in the war effort. He did this by painting for them a mental picture. He told them to picture the grand parade that would take place when VE Day came. First, he said, would come the sailors of the British Navy, the ones who had upheld the grand tradition of Trafalgar and the defeat of the Armada. Next in the parade, he said, would come the pilots of the Royal Air Force. They were the ones who, more than any other, had saved England from the dreaded German Luftwaffe. Next in the parade would come the Army, the ones that had stood tall at the crises of Dunkirk. Last of all, he said, would come a long line of sweat-stained, soot-streaked men in miner’s caps. And someone, he said, would cry from the crowd, “And where were you during the critical days of the struggle?” And then from ten thousand throats would come, “We were deep in the earth with our faces to the coal.”