Fr. Roger J. Landry

Conversations with Consequences Podcast

Homily for the Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time, A, Vigil

August 26, 2023

 

To listen to an audio recording of this short Sunday homily, please click below: 

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/catholicpreaching/8.26.23_Landry_ConCon_1.mp3

 

 

The following text guided the homily: 

* This is Fr. Roger Landry and it’s a privilege for me to be with you as we enter into the consequential conversation the Risen Lord Jesus wants to have with each of us this Sunday. In it, he’s going to ask us the same two momentous questions he asked the apostles 2,000 years ago in Caesarea Philippi: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” and “Who do you say that I am.” These get to Jesus’ real identity: Who is Jesus? And who is he in my life?

* In response to the first question, the apostles said that their informal poll showed that the people were numbering Jesus among the greatest figures, past and present, in Jewish history. Some, like the murderous Herod Antipas who had decapitated the Lord’s precursor, were saying Jesus was John the Baptist risen from the dead. Others were claiming he was Elijah, the greatest of all the prophets, the one whose return they believed would set the stage for the Messianic age. Others said he was Jeremiah, the one whom they believe had hidden the ark and the altar of sacrifice before the destruction of the Temple and the one they anticipated would return to reinstitute true worship. At the time Jesus asked the question, many of the Jews were accustomed to say that there had not been prophets for 400 years, and therefore, whoever Jesus was, the crowds believed that he was likely the greatest figure in four centuries. But as exalted as those estimations of Jesus’ reputation were, they weren’t even close. We can hear similar things today about Jesus. Many, including Christians, say that Jesus was a very good man, compassionate, kind, encouraged people to love, imparted a peaceful philosophy of life, or even was the holiest guy who ever lived. In short, they admire Jesus, but Jesus didn’t take on our human nature and die on Calvary for people’s approval or admiration. As CS Lewis once famously wrote, Jesus was either who he said he was — the Son of God made man — or a lunatic who mistakenly thought he was, or a fraud and one of the worst liars of all time. Merely a good man he wasn’t and simply couldn’t be.

* That’s why Jesus’ second question is so important. He asked his closest followers, “Who do you say that I am?” It’s clear that each of the apostles would have been grappling with the question of Jesus’ identity as they heard him preach, watched him heal the sick, cleanse lepers, exorcise demons, multiply food, walk on water and calm storms, but eleven of the 12 apostles stayed silent. They probably feared going on record, even if every ounce of their being recognized that Jesus was someone beyond what the mob was murmuring. Nathaniel, in fact, the first time he met Jesus cried out, “Rabbi, you are the son of God. You are the king of Israel” (Jn 1:49), pointing both to Jesus’ reality as son of David and son of the eternal Father. But for whatever reason, he was too reticent to say in front of the others what he had said to Jesus directly. Peter, however, took that risk. He stood up and boldly replied that Jesus was far more than a great prophet, far more than the greatest figure in centuries, far more even than Moses. He was the Messiah in Hebrew, the Christ in Greek, the anointed one in English, the long-awaited Savior whom the Jews had been expecting for a millennium. He was also, Peter said significantly, the Son of the Living God, the God who is alive and gives and holds us in li...