September 15, 2024, Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
Today’s readings: First Reading -Isaiah 50:5-9; Second Reading – James 2:14-18 and the Gospel – Mark 8:27-35.
The first reading presents the agony of the suffering servant. The reading is the prefiguration of the life of Jesus.
The suffering servant, irrespective of his innocence and goodness, suffers a lot. He suffers because he is a good man. He is sustained in all his trials by the firm belief that God is with him.
The suffering servant represents all the poor people and many people who are suffering in different parts of the world.
The second reading is about faith and good work. The problem of faith and good works is as old as human beings. This is because so many people separate their faith from good works.
Some Christians claim that they believe in God but they lack charity. They can promise you prayers while your immediate needs are some material needs to keep you alive but they ignore that.
So James is reminding us today that faith without good works is dead.
While we pray, we should support our prayers with charity, care and goodness.
In today’s gospel, Jesus confronted his disciples with an introspective question about his identity. His question was directed to them in two ways.
The first question was about who the people say that he is. This is a general conception of people about the person of Jesus. This question is still relevant today. So many people say different things about Jesus. The Jews have their own understanding of the person of Jesus. The Muslims have their own views, the traditional worshippers have their own views too.
After seeing a lot of miracles done by Jesus, some believed that John the Baptist had appeared again, some that Elijah had appeared, others that one of the prophets of the old had appeared.
It is still the same situation we face today about the identity of Jesus. We hear many pastors, evangelists, general overseers, priests talk about the identity of Jesus. Each one presents Jesus according to his or her own personal readings or encounter with Jesus.
Some also view the personality of Jesus according to their own personal motive.
Now Jesus wanted to make it more personal and asked them who they said that he was. This is more personal. One can only answer this question according to one’s personal experience of Jesus.
We all need to answer this question, “who do you say that Jesus is?”
Who’s Jesus to you? How do you journey with him? How much do you know him? You can only know him depending on your personal experience of him.
We can only experience him by talking to him more regularly. We pray that Almighty God may bless us and protect us from all evil through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Have a great Sunday and enjoy your day.
Rev. Fr. Ambrose Onyeka Anene, SDB, is the parish priest of Church of the Archangels, Gaduwa, Abuja, the FCT.
