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And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."
And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."
Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."
- Luke 9:18-27
On Saturday, we read that Jesus called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece. Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them." So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again. Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?" So he sought to see Him. And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here." But He said to them, "You give them something to eat." And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people." For there were about five thousand men. Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty." And they did so, and made them all sit down. Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of leftover fragments were taken up by them. See Bread in the wilderness.
And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again." My study bible has something important to say: "What the crowds have to say about Jesus is of little importance. The disciples learn that lesson here. In the New Testament, the opinion of the crowd is seldom, if ever, clear, and often completely wrong."
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God." My study bible adds here: "A great moment in the ministry of Jesus comes when Peter, on behalf of the disciples, acknowledges Jesus as the Christ of God." It is another turning point in the ministry and in discipleship. We must note now it comes after the Apostles are sent out and return from their first mission (see yesterday's reading).
And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day." My study bible once again tells us, helpfully, about this verse: "Jesus desires to keep His messiahship hidden to avoid (1) popular political misunderstanding and (2) quick intervention by the Romans." But I think it's important that we understand clearly that the moment when the disciples (with Peter speaking for all of them) understand His true identity, then He begins to speak of His suffering and His death. What kind of kingdom will this be? What kind of Messiah? Luke's Gospel does not report Peter's objection to this news.
"Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it." Jesus begins to explain the life of the cross, and how all believers are expected to participate in this life -- even as daily practice. The saying is perplexing without the full story of Jesus' Passion, but we can understand what He is implying: things won't always go "our way," just like His kingdom is not what the disciples would expect, and just like Jesus isn't the person the crowd thinks He is. But this is part of "taking up our cross" -- even daily. It is a part of the willingness to lose our lives for His sake: that is, to live in His word, in prayer, to seek that which God calls us to.
"For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God." Here Jesus tells us of the power of faith, and its value. It's interesting that just after what we could call the first Eucharist (the feeding of the multitude in the wilderness), Jesus speaks of the eternal or immortal nature of what is promised in this kingdom, what life we enter into.
In today's reading, Jesus speaks of the Kingdom. We are introduced to concepts of the Kingdom that we haven't yet understood. How does our own prioritizing become meaningful when we choose to have faith? What does it mean to be promised a life in this kingdom? Clearly there is an exchange implied. We are to take up our own cross daily, each of us. What does it mean to give up our lives in order to save them? Or to lose our lives -- for His sake -- in order to gain them? We note that this speaks to each one of us, and the implication is that none is exempt from this process. There are many times in my life when I find that I have to give up some dream of my own, some fantasy of how life could be. Often this centers around relationships that I wish were more loving or better. But I am not in charge of the universe and I can only make decisions for myself. If I find, truly, that others do not wish to respond to me with love, even in relationships that I cherish or have hopes for, I can keep trying and hoping or at some point in time, when a clear answer has come spurning this type of relationship, I can say that I have to give up something I hoped for -- and truly accept the way things are. It's not a question of judgment, but rather of taking up the cross, and of saying that I accept others' decisions about what they want in their lives, and that this is the way things are. In taking up the cross it is essential in that moment to turn to God, to Christ. Because, really, the goal is union with God, a place in that kingdom -- and truly there we will find guidance in our disappointments, and our giving up of our cherished dreams -- and perhaps delusions. It's not a question of rejection but of acceptance and of restoration in God's love. It's a way of accepting disappointments, and the fact that life isn't always what we want it to be. To save our lives there will be things we have to be willing to lose -- at least, speaking for myself, this is what I understand. Psalm 27 tells us, "When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me." It's a way of teaching about loss and restoration, brokenness and wholeness. To enter into that Kingdom may mean that we take up our cross, but there is a way to loving restoration, to wholeness in His love and in sharing His love. When we call upon Him, we are calling to a participation in that love and what it can mean in our lives. Sometimes what we have to lose are the "opinions of the crowds" in order to find "His opinion." Let us think about bread in the wilderness in this context, and we will be on our way to tasting of the life He promises.
