Sunday September 16, 2012. Gospel: St.Mark, 8:27-35. (Click on Mass Readings on Menu for the text of the readings)

Dear Sinead and Mark,

Back again with you!  Can I take you this time on a journey, in your imagination? Come, travel with me a little while.

I’m a Hibernian traveler, a curious on-looker, walking the roads of Galilee with this strange Rabbi and his friends. They call him ‘Jehoshua’ or Jesus. This morning, we left the sea of Galilee early, as we have a long walk ahead of us. We’re heading north and east, towards Mount Hermon, the highest mountain in all this region, over 9000 feet high. Can’t miss it!  We’ve about 40k to go. As we leave the Galilee behind us, we see in the distance a great temple city in the foothills of Mount Hermon. The city is on top of a high cliff, 100ft. high, and 500ft wide, and it looks very Roman in style,- and why wouldn’t it, since they are the Occupier Force in all this region. The city is named after the Emperor of Rome, Caesar, and his henchman King Philip (one of the Herod family!),- it’s called CAESAREA PHILIPPI, as Philip wants to impress his boss in Rome.

Can I tell another thing? The people in this region , not only do they worship the Emperor Caesar as a god, but they also worship the god PAN, -he’s the one who plays the pipes! He’s half goat and half man, and he’s the god of Fertility! No wonder he’s popular!

Anyway, here we are now walking behind the Rabbi Jesus, chatting away to each other. We can clearly see the temple city ahead on the mighty rock-face, shining in the glinting sun. While we’re gazing in awe,  Jesus suddenly stops and turns to us. Something is bothering him, as if he is unsure about us. He asks us: ‘Who do people say that I am?’  Some of my friends in the group give different answers.. ‘you’re John the Baptist!’, ‘you’re the prophet Elijah!’ , ’You’re some ancient prophet!’, and so on.  I’m watching his face as the answers come. Now he cuts to the chase and puts this to our group- ‘Who do YOU say that I am?’  Oh, that hurts.  We have been following him for a couple of years or more, but he wants to know who do we think he is! Imagine! He’s serious. And, while we’re all stuck for words and embarrassed,  good ol’ Simon Peter,- he’s always the first to jump in with the answers,- he blurts out to Jesus ‘’You’re the Christ’ (that means the Messiah in Hebrew, or God’s Anointed One, God’s Sent One’).

And you can see that Jesus is relieved! At least someone can see who he is. But he is telling us firmly to say nothing to anyone about it.

We’re still thinking about all this when he starts to tell us that yes, he is the Messiah, but he’s going to suffer really badly, he’s going to made a laughing stock for people, and then he’s going to be killed by the people. He tells us, at the end of that, that he will rise from the dead after three days! Whatever all that means, I haven’t a clue.

And he’s no sooner finished saying all this to us, when my friend Peter takes him by the elbow and walks him away from the crowd of us, a little bit.

This kind of leader ?

Peter starts to give out yards to Jesus, that this was the wrong way to go.. He needed to have a bit of backbone, to be a leader, a warrior to lead the people against these Roman occupiers. Great stuff, Peter! I’m with you on that!

But what do you think Jesus does, -he is looking around at us, somehow with great love and sadness in his eyes, and he is saying to Peter, the hero of a few minutes ago (oops! this bit hurts!) ‘Get behind me SATAN!’ Wow, that’s some come-down for Peter. From hero to villain in minutes. Jesus then adds ‘the way you think is not God’s way’.

or this kind of leader ?

I’m wondering what will happen to Jesus! If he doesn’t go the way of chariots and swords, will he not end up with the Romans torturing him and killing him in their special cruel Roman way,- crucifixion! Nailed up to beams, and hanging there for hours, sometimes days, until you can’t breathe any more. Can’t bear to think of it.

So that’s where I am on the road today. I can see the great and beautiful city;  I can see CAESAR, I can see PAN and all his goings on, and I can see JESUS.  Who is CAESAR? Who is PAN? Who is JESUS?

As they say in my own language, back home in Hibernia, ‘Sin Ceist!’ ‘That’s the Question!’

My choice. My life. My head on the block? When it comes to it, which will I choose?

God help me!

Oops, too much thinking! There’s Jesus and the others heading back down the road for home, back to Capernaum. Will I run after them and catch up, – or stay where I am?

Thanks, Sinead and Mark, for sharing my journey with me. Check with me where I end up eventually.  And good journeying for you both. God bliss and bless us all.

Your friend on the road,

Seamus.

(Seamus Devitt C.Ss.R., Esker).

Gospel: Mark 8:27-35  (click on ‘Mass Readings’, for the texts.)

You couldn’t miss seeing Caesarea Philippi. Jesus and his disciples had walked the 40k or more towards it, directly northeast of the Sea of Galilee. Even from a great distance, it looked mightily impressive. You couldn’t miss seeing this temple city.

Caesarea Philippi is in the foothills of Mount Hermon which is in Syria.  Mount Hermon is the largest mountain in the whole area towering 2,814 meters (close to 10,000 feet) above sea level.

At Caesarea Philippi there is a massive wall of rock that is well over 100 feet straight up and about 500 feet wide.   The city of Caesarea Philippi was built on top of this enormous rock.  It was enlarged and rededicated by King Philip to honor the Caesar in Rome.  Caesar considered himself a god and King Philip was eager to please him. Hence the name ‘Caesarea Philippi’. It was for the worship of gods.

As well as worshiping the Emperor Caesar, the Greeks and Romans had many other gods. One that was especially honored here in Caesarea Philippi was the Pagan god of Pan,- half goat, half man, god of shepherds and of fertility, and god of fright!  (The word ‘panic’ comes from his name.) He was often depicted playing the flute.

This kind of Messiah?

or this kind of Messiah?

So, what was JESUS doing travelling up into the region of the great Roman-built city of CAESAREA PHILIPPI?  CAESAR considered himself a God, and wanted people to worship him.  Pan was worshipped at the waterfalls and in the caves, in this area.  Why would Jesus face down the two ‘gods’, Caesar and Pan? In plain view of this enormous rock on which the pagan temple was built, Jesus turned to his own disciples and asked them that now famous question ‘Who do people say I am?’ And when Mark put this down in written form around 65AD, the disciples in Rome were faced with the god Caesar, the Emperor, and the Roman PANTHEON of all their false gods. And the question was put to disciples, then and now: ‘Who do you say that I am?’  Simon Peter, in today’s Gospel Reading,  was the one disciple who spoke up bravely and said ‘You are the CHRIST’ (or The Messiah, the Anointed One sent by God).  The only problem, as he found out very shortly after, was that his idea of ‘Messiah’ was very different from Jesus’ idea. Peter thought of chariots and war-hero, Jesus thought of the cross! And Jesus rebuked him with those sharp words ‘Get behind me, Satan!’

Move on 35 or 40 years, and you’re now in Rome. Imagine hearing that story of Mark’s Gospel read for you in your hiding place in Rome, where you gathered for the Breaking of Bread, constantly in fear of the banging on the door as they came for you. This was decision time. Who is Jesus, for you? Is he to be preferred to the Emperor? Whom will you worship? Will you choose Pan,the god of shepherds and fertility, -or will you chose the Good Shepherd himself, Jesus the Christ, who will give life to the full?

Will I cave in, when the soldiers come for me and my fellow disciples, and worship the Emperor to save my life, my skin? Or will I let go my very life, my skin, and worship Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God? Will I put my head on the block for Jesus, if it comes to it?

Tough choice. Today.

Seamus Devitt C.Ss.R.