By Father Paul Nord, O.S.B.
Sunday Scripture
First Reading: Isaiah 50:5-9a; Response: Psalm 116:1-6, 8-9; Second Reading: James 2:14-18; Gospel: Mark 8:27-35
This reading (Isaiah 50) comes from a section of Isaiah’s prophecy that depicts a “servant” of the Lord God. Although the servant is suffering, he recognizes that “the Lord God is my help.” The servant’s powerlessness is contrasted with the Lord God’s power to protect him. Trusting in God, the servant is obedient — “I have not rebelled.” This contrasts with an earlier passage, Isaiah 48, which depicts the people of Israel as “a rebel” who “never heard” God’s commands (48:8). God calls upon his people to listen and to be taught how to live according to the commands of the Lord God (Isaiah 48:16-18).
The servant depicted in Isaiah 50:5-9 is a model of how to stay faithful to God despite suffering. This suffering is described — beating on the back, plucking of the beard, blows to the face and spitting on the face — all done by an unnamed enemy. Despite this, the servant obeys God’s teaching, and credits God for enabling him to hear God’s word: “The Lord GOD opens my ear that I may hear.”
The servant puts his complete trust in God’s help, knowing that “I am not disgraced” and “I shall not be put to shame.” These verses depict someone who “wishes to oppose me.” The servant trusts that God will defend his innocence even if this opponent accuses or confronts the suffering servant.
Our second reading, from the letter of James, insists that our faith in Christ Jesus must find expression in our good works. This might seem obvious, but James felt the need to rebuke members of the early Christian community who were not caring for those in need. James describes those who have “nothing to wear” or “no food for the day.” Our faith in Christ compels us to “give them the necessities of the body.” Reassuring words are not enough — our faith in Christ must be expressed by action — by “works.” This passage speaks of “a brother or sister.” This is a reference to a fellow Christian in need. While we certainly have a responsibility to care for all those who are in physical need, James sees it as particularly scandalous that we would not even care for the needy in our local community who share our faith in Christ Jesus.
This biblical passage from James 2 has been a cause of consternation for some Protestant Christians who carry forward Martin Luther’s teaching that a Christian is brought into right relationship with God (“justified”) “by faith alone” (sola fide). This teaching of Luther created an unnecessary opposition between our faith in Christ and our Christian obligation to do good works — especially for those in need. In 1999, a Catholic-Lutheran dialogue resulted in a “Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.” This shared Catholic-Lutheran doctrinal statement attempted to resolve this obstacle to Christian unity. Section 15 of the document stated: “Together we confess: By grace alone, in faith in Christ’s saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping and calling us to good works.”
The Gospel of St. Mark has 16 chapters, and today’s passage from Mark 8 is an important turning-point at this Gospel’s center. This is because Jesus asks his disciples: “Who do people say that I am?” In response, Peter correctly identifies who Jesus is — “the Christ” (Messiah).
The identity of Jesus is a central question in the early chapters of Mark. When Jesus is baptized by John in the Jordan River, the voice from heaven identifies who Jesus is: “You are my beloved Son” (Mark 1:11). Jesus proceeds to demonstrate who he is by curing the sick and by casting out unclean spirits. Jesus’ power over evil demonstrates his identity as the Son of God. When Jesus casts out the unclean spirit from the man in the synagogue (Mark 1:21-28), the unclean spirit identifies Jesus by saying: “I know who you are — the Holy One of God!” Likewise, when Jesus frees the Gerasene demoniac from his unclean spirit (Mark 5:1-20), the unclean spirit identifies Jesus as “Son of the Most High God.” It is quite ironic that the unclean spirits recognize Jesus’ identity before his disciples do.
Further, Jesus faces continual opposition when he acts with the power of God. For example, when Jesus heals the paralytic in Mark 2:1-12, he tells the paralytic “Child, your sins are forgiven.” This causes some to accuse Jesus of blasphemy, because they say: “Who but God alone can forgive sins?” They fail to recognize that he is the Son of God. Jesus forgives sins because he acts with God’s authority. But Jesus’ opponents fail to recognize who he is.
After Jesus repeatedly demonstrates who he is through many miracles and healings, finally he directly asks his disciples in Mark 8:27: “Who do people say that I am?” The disciples acknowledge that people have been speculating about Jesus’ identity. But Peter then identifies Jesus: “You are the Christ.” Jesus confirms this, but warns them not to tell anyone. Further, he explains 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.” Here Jesus calls himself by the Messianic title “the Son of Man.”
Jesus’ disciples were firmly committed to their belief that God’s Messiah would lead the Israelites to earthly glory — triumph over their enemies. Thus they did not want to accept that the Messiah must suffer and be killed. For this reason, Peter rebuked Jesus for prophesying that he would be killed. But Jesus rebukes Peter in response: “Get behind me, Satan.” Jesus further explains that his disciples must imitate his example. They must be willing to lose their lives, as Jesus will lose his life. This is Jesus Christ’s good news of God’s salvation — that new life with God comes from Jesus taking up his cross — and that Jesus’ followers must do the same.