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 (and no lunch) 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.
"Lady, do you know who I am?" he said. "I am the governor of
this state." "And Mister, do
you know who I am?" the woman answered. "I am the lady in-charge of
the chicken. So move along, mister."
In
the above story, the governor and the lady in-charge of the chicken, both try
to exert their authority upon the other by revealing their identity of who they
are by letting emphatically the question - "Do
you know who I am?" In the Gospel Reading of today from St. Mark,
Jesus asks his disciples the same very question as regards his identity:
"Who do you say that I am?" But here, he does not exert his authority
upon them, but asks a simple and straightforward question trying to sincerely
seek their opinion and to inquire what the disciples have discovered so far as
to 'who Jesus is' for them. Of course it is a personal question and so it
demands a personal answer too.
When
we read the four Gospels, each Evangelist through his writing tells its readers
'who Jesus is' as he has experienced and discovered. Each of the four Gospels
has therefore its own characteristic, its own way of presenting the message of
Christ.
Matthew
emphasizes Jesus as 'the Wise One,
the teacher, the Rabbi.' He preaches in the synagogues, shows wisdom through healing,
explains in parables. Mark highlights
Jesus as 'the Suffering One.' “The
Son of Man must undergo great suffering and be rejected, and be killed. Then
after three days he will rise again in glory.” (Mk.8)
Luke
sees Jesus as 'the Annointed One” – the
one who brings together Gentiles as well as Jews. In Luke Jesus is especially a
friend of the poor, the handicapped, those relegated to the fringes of society.
John
stresses Jesus as ‘the Divine One'. The Word made flesh… the one sent by the
Father. Different facets of Jesus, but who is he really?
Today
Jesus asks - "Who am I?" Peter, speaking in the name of all, says:
"You are the Christ. The
Savior. The Messiah. "That is who Jesus is, that is his core, his center,
his purpose, his identity.
But
then, Jesus is not the Messiah they expected. Peter found it hard to accept.
For him the Messiah would not, could not suffer. And yet Jesus tells all his
disciples that they too must suffer and that they should deny themselves, take
up their cross and follow him.
The
First Reading, chosen to compliment the Gospel Reading of today is part of the
"Suffering Servant" songs that Prophet Isaiah composed about the one
who was to come. In this reading, the prophet describes the servant of God who
will lead Israel back to God. The servant will suffer, but God will uphold him
and will take care of him.
In
the New Testament, these words take on a new meaning for us. The prophesy of
Isaiah is fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus is the suffering servant in Isaiah, the
Messiah who was destined to suffer and so, enter into his glory and in doing so
save the world.
Now
that you know who Jesus is, he now asks you: “Who are you?”
In the film: "Rise of the Guardians"- where we find Santa Claus,
Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Sandman, and their newbie Jack Frost:
Santa
asks: “Who are you, Jack Frost, and what is your center? If the Man up there
chose you to be a guardian, you must have something very special inside.”
Santa goes and picks up a Russian doll (babushka/matryoshka doll) and shows it to Jack Frost. “Here
this is how you see me right? Very big and intimidating. But
if you get to know me a little..”
And
he makes Jack take off one layer. “You are jolly?” “But not just jolly…” And Santa takes off another layer… “I
am also mysterious.” And he removes another layer of the doll: “I
am also caring.”
Finally
only one small doll is left. And Jack says: “You are a tiny wooden little baby
with very big eyes?” And Santa says: "Yes, very big eyes, because they are
full of wonder. That is my center.
Eyes that see with wonder in everything.
Eyes that see lights in trees, and magic in the air. Wonder is what I put into the world to
protect in the children. It is what
makes me a guardian. And what is yours?"
The
gospels are like the Babushka doll. In Matthew we see Jesus as the Wise One. We
peel another layer, and we see him in Mark as the Suffering One. Take another
and we see him in Luke as the Annointed One. Then another, we discover him in
John as the Divine One. And finally we see his core and center as the Christ.
Savior. Messiah.
But
what about you? Who are you, and what is your core… your center. Only you can
answer this. This is your assignment in life.
References:
Lakra, A. (2012). Fr Albert Lakra’s Blog.
Eastlock, K. (2003). “A Place to
Stand.”
Holmes, C. “Chapter 3.”
Hsiao, C. (2012). “Christian Spotlight: Rise of the guardians.”
http://www.christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/2012/riseoftheguardians2012.html