We Are All "Other Christs"!

 

Homily for the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Sept. 12, 2021. Gospel of St. Mark 8:27-35. Theme: We Are All “Other Christs”!

In today’s Gospel, we heard Peter say to Jesus, “You are the Christ.”  So, what exactly does that mean? When I was a kid I honestly thought it was his last name, you know...as in Jesus, Mary and Joseph Christ!   But it’s not a name at all. Rather, it’s a title and a very ancient one at that, going back several thousand years.

To understand its meaning we have to go to the very beginning of the Bible, to the story of Adam and Eve. Recall that through their free choice of autonomy from God the whole human race found itself in a state of spiritual alienation from our Creator.  Our Christian tradition has come to call this the original sin of Adam and Eve.  Through this original sin, chaos and confusion, suffering and sin entered into the human experience. And the gift of eternal life with God was also put into  jeopardy.  

In order for this sin to be forgiven and for this great spiritual wound in every human person to be healed, God promised to one day send a Savior, a Deliverer, who would set things right again. Just as Adam and Eve brought sin into the world through their selfishness and disobedience, so the Deliverer would bring salvation through his unselfishness and obedient love.  The prophets of Israel called this Promised One the MESSIAH.

 

In Hebrew, Messiah means “The Anointed One”. You see, in the Old Testament, those who were specially chosen by God to serve his people as priests, prophets and kings were anointed with holy oil as a sign of their mission.  Since the Savior was to be the greatest prophet, the holiest priest and the mightiest king, He was known as THE Messiah, THE Anointed One above all others. And so this is why Jesus alone received this most ancient title.

 

When Greek became the primary world language MESSIAH was translated into the Greek word, CHRISTOS which in English is CHRIST. And so there you have it. Christ means the Messiah, the Anointed One, the holiest prophet who would speak God’s Word to us; the most sacred priest who would enable us to offer true worship to God; the humble servant-king who would lead  us, not by strict domination like earthly kings, but by the example of loving service.

 

But now here’s an awesome truth that connects each one of us with the story of the Messiah.  We who are baptized share in Jesus’ consecration, dedication and mission as the Messiah, as the Christ.  Right after being baptized with water we were anointed with Chrism, the ancient sacred anointing oil.  And as we were anointed these words were prayed over us: "God now anoints you with the chrism of salvation as Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet and King…”  This is why we are called Christians.  Like Jesus we are Anointed Ones chosen by God the Father to become “other Christs” in this world.  We are anointed to speak God’s message as prophets, we are anointed to worship God as his priestly people, and we are anointed to show our love for God by serving our neighbor. 

But there is one more thing that comes into our lives because of our mission to be “other Christs” and that is the Cross.  For many Christians, the Cross has come to mean patience in trials and perseverance in suffering.  And that is certainly one of the positive inspirational meanings we can give to it in our lives.  But this is not what “the cross” meant to Jesus or to those who heard him speak about it. To understand more fully what Jesus meant we have to put ourselves into the mindset of those first century people living under Roman oppression. To them, “the cross” was a symbol of shame and public humiliation. To “carry one’s cross” meant to go to one’s death and to be ridiculed along the way.  What Jesus the Christ is telling us in today’s Gospel is that those who truly want to follow him in this life and into the Kingdom of Heaven must be willing to undergo public ridicule, humiliation and rejection because of our relationship with him.  

So the big question is: are we willing to take up the Cross and follow Jesus? The social and moral condition of our nation today certainly makes the public ridicule of the Cross a potential reality in our lives as Christians. Just about everything in our culture has found its way into opposition with Christ and his teachings. For example, abortion and euthanasia are upheld as patient rights while the Gospel tells us these are assaults on human life. Our Creator’s intentions for marriage and family have become twisted into distorted definitions and freestyle relationships. Educational institutions reject truth as something valid for all people and instead teach the politically correct propaganda of the day from kindergarten through graduate school. And there are many more examples that we all know way too well.  

Are we willing to take up the Cross and follow Jesus? Do we love God and neighbor enough to live out our mission as “other Christs”, as Anointed Ones who speak God’s message by our words and our behavior?  Our baptismal anointing is not a gift that God gives us for our own sakes.  We are called and anointed for the sake of others.  Each one of us has been anointed to live as “other Christs” among those with whom we live, work and socialize, so that by the power and witness of the Cross  we might help them to know, love and serve God in this life and then  be forever happy with him in the next.