Year B Proper 19 Proverbs 1: 20-33 Mark 8:27-38

Wisdom cries aloud the street; in the market she raises her voice; on top of the walls she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks…. How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?

The voice in today’s first reading is that of Wisdom, portrayed in Proverbs as a female voice. Proverbs also has a male voice, the father voice, but today we hear the Mother of all Wisdom speaking, and she is not mincing her words. She is speaking in public places where all can hear, the last of which mentioned is the city gates, a place that often doubled as the place of justice in ancient Israel. Her message is alarming – but no one is listening. No one at all is paying any attention to her dire warnings.

Because I have called and you refused, have stretched out my hand and no one heeded, and because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when panic strikes you,

This sounds terribly heartless for the voice of a mother, but it echoes other prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Amos, not to mention God, in whose Name these prophets spoke. The warning is very clear. Go on ignoring Truth, and there is a terrible price to pay.

There are three types of individuals mentioned in today’s reading. First, is the “simple” person, the naïve, the gullible. Second, is the “mocker,” the cynic who takes pleasure in ridiculing others for their ways of thinking. Third, and last, the “fool,” who doesn’t care to know what’s right because he or she is so determined to do what they want.

In our present climate, it is impossible to not think of what Wisdom is saying in terms of today’s ongoing argument about the COVID vaccine, whether or not to get the jab. In this argument there are varying opinions as to who falls into which of Wisdom’s three categories. We like having Bible verses to fling at each other – but it is a temptation we would be wise to avoid. It is all too easy to become the “mockers”, which is what we do when we apply Scripture to those with whom we disagree.

Instead of falling into this temptation, there are many other areas in our own lives on which we ought to reflect, many areas in which each of us avoid Truth. How many times have we made what we later consider to be a stupid or foolish decision? It could be anything from getting home later than we promised, and thus worrying a loved one unnecessarily, to impulse buying we later regret, to doing whatever it may be “against our better judgement”. No one wants to be considered gullible, or cynical, or foolish, or suffer the consequences for being any or all of these things. But even when we “know better”, we do them – and having done them, all of us make excuses.

We don’t want to listen to the voice of Wisdom. We want to be the ones in control, the ones who make the “rules” and the decisions, who set the standards - but we are warned today. The message is, Wisdom is Life. We need to pay attention, because when we are continually unwise – there are no excuses and there is a price to pay.

Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” …

Of all the people who encountered Jesus in His lifetime on earth, we would expect the disciples to be paying the closest attention, and perhaps in a way they are. Unfortunately, they seem to be so engrossed in the minutia, the miracles and such, they haven’t seen the bigger picture. They are the last to recognize Him. The demons, the religious authorities, and the general population know Jesus’ identity long before the disciples do.

Finally Jesus asks them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” …

The disciples are the last to make this assertion. Peter’s confession is the first time in Mark’s Gospel that the disciples declare Jesus’ true identity. Mark has a way of keeping his readers in suspense. While everyone else identifies Jesus, it takes eight chapters before the disciples “get it”.

We, of course, know from the very beginning of the Gospel the identity of the Anointed One, but do we get it? We know Jesus is the One to whom we pray, the One who did all those amazing things 2000 years ago. We declare He rose from the dead and saved the world. All these things are part of what we say we believe. We certainly declare this in church, but the real question is, is Jesus a living Presence in our daily lives?

Do we have the slightest notion what Peter means when he declares, “You are the Messiah”? It is so easy for us to take the attitude of the general crowd that experienced Jesus during His earthly ministry. People perceived Jesus in the earlier prophetic tradition. Jews today still see Him as one of the prophets, and like the prophets, as an historic figure. But this is not who He is.

Who then is Jesus? We may not feel we actually know the answer ourselves. Certainly, for each of us – as for every generation of Christians – an understanding of who Jesus is cuts to the core of our personal faith. What Peter and the others experienced so long ago is what we go through again and again as we decide whether we are willing to match what we say we believe with how we follow Jesus in the actions of our lives. Wisdom dictates it would be wise to live our faith, to let our actions match our words – but so often this is not the case.

Of course, we always have an answer if someone were to ask us, “Who is Jesus?”. We immediately respond with one of many choices, the Son of God, God incarnate, Savior of the World, second Person of the Holy Trinity. But while all of these are true, somehow they don’t answer the question. It is extremely easy to pay lip service to our faith, but it is far more difficult to define who Jesus is, because it isn’t really possible to put His Identity into words.

What people today need, what people have always needed, is to not just hear about Jesus and about God’s great Love, they need to experience it, and that’s where we, Jesus’ modern day followers, come in. We have to start by being aware of the Love that surrounds us, looking for it, searching it out, and finding it others. We cannot be naive, cannot be ignorant of this because it is the commandment our Lord has given us - to love one another as He loves us. The wisdom of this is simple to understand, but not easy to accomplish. Those “others” we’re called to love can be difficult to care about, sometimes we don’t even like them. But, nonetheless, we are commanded to love them.

How do we even begin to lead a holy life – a life filled with Wisdom, a life of which Jesus approves? And remember, Jesus is present tense. We are not living for Someone whose law is 2000+ years old. Not living for some historic figure. We are living for Someone who lives now and whose Law is as current as it was when He first gave it.

Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

We need to rid ourselves of the idea that being Jesus’ follower and living according to His will frees us from suffering. Life is filled with many painful things, many worldly discomforts, anxieties, and sorrows. These do not go away just because we open our hearts. In fact, there is an old saying, “the cross is the gifts Christ gives His friends”. Not a pleasant thought? Not at first, no, but turn it around and think how it makes everything we endure blessed, makes our sufferings a pathway to holiness.

Suffering has meaning, has a positive nature denied it by our society. And then we need to stop for a moment and recollect the graces and blessings that continually fill our lives. There are always blessings – we need but look for them and be open to them.

Then, Jesus called the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

How can we pick up our cross and still have a life filled with peace and joy? Look at it this way. Everything we enjoy now, probably had a moment when it was a cross to bear. How many times did you burn yourself on the oven, or drop a hot plate, or explode the pressure cooker when you were learning to cook? How many times did you fall off your bike before you could ride it? We always kept at it, whatever it was, despite the suffering, because we were working toward a goal. We hated the pain, but we loved the task – and the results made and still make the suffering and the work worthwhile. We end up delighted.

That’s what it means to take up your cross. That’s how we become holy people, the living example of Jesus’ love for everyone. We are meant not to avoid life’s pains and challenges, but to use them to grow in humility and holiness. The more we love and give, the harder it may be, because evil always will work against us, but the reward in this world truly is peace and joy, and in the world to come, the delight of heaven.

When life is harsh, there are places we go, not physical places, but within ourselves, and we must be careful not to choose the ones that fly in the face of true wisdom. We are not called to be gullible, or cynical, or in control. We are called to be centered in Christ, which means we are called suffer, and to live through our suffering into joy and happiness, and peace, and to the giving and receiving of eternal Love.

Being holy doesn’t mean being miserable, it means rolling with the punches, learning from and growing through the pain, being willing to suffer for the goal, and enjoying every minute of living, loving and giving for Jesus. Surrendering to the will of God is the only way, the only real and wise choice.

For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.

Let us pray:

Thank You Lord Jesus for all the benefits you have given us. O most merciful friend, redeemer and brother, help us to wisely see that suffering is a gift on our way to a greater goal. Help us to see You more clearly, love You more dearly and follow You more nearly all the days of our life. We ask for Your love and mercy’s sake. Amen.