MEDITAZIONI SUL VANGELO DI LUCA PER LA FAMIGLIACampione

"MEDITATION 18: A Messiah Announced, Rejected and Exalted." With twenty centuries of Christian history behind us, we are in a privileged position when compared with that of the first disciples. We know that Jesus was raised from the dead, and the theological formulations of the first Ecumenical Councils offer us a clear vision of who and what Jesus was and is. If we want to understand the feelings, doubts and expectations Peter and the rest must have experienced, we have to make an effort to be in their place. James and John came from a family of fishermen with hired workers. Of Simon and Andrew, we know that they were fishermen, too. We also know that Simon was married; Levi was a tax-collector, etc. Then suddenly, they hear a calling from a street preacher (was Jesus a “certified” rabbi?), to leave everything and follow him (18:28). Why? We must count on a factor of faith, but we should not discount a certain degree of expectations for personal roles in the kingdom Jesus was proclaiming. Peter’s words and the demands posed by John and James about a seat in Jesus’ glory (Mark 10:35-45), as well as the reaction of the rest, are signs of the misunderstandings that underlay their following of Jesus. Peter probably did not understand how right he was when he affirmed that Jesus was “The Messiah of God” (9:20), and how distant from the content of that statement in Jesus’ mind. Hence, his disconcertment at his being rebuked and ordered not to tell that to anyone. More disconcerted must he have felt when Jesus explains the path he is going to follow: not to the glory James and John had aspired, but a way that led to betrayal, abandonment, suffering and death. All of them must have thought Jesus was out of his mind, and may have thought that the conditions they were required to accept to be his disciples were out of the reach of humble and sinful people such as they were. At least that is what Peter thought regarding himself (5:8). Eight days after this event, Jesus takes his three closest disciples (those who will be present in Jairus’ house and who will accompany him, and fall asleep! while he prays before being arrested) with him to the Mount of Transfiguration. Perhaps seeing a glimpse of his glory, even if it is an obscure vision, will reinforce their confidence and allow them to communicate that confidence to the rest. Was this to no avail? Although they were able to see Moses and Elijah with Jesus and heard the voice from heaven, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him” (9:35), their minds remained in the dark and they misunderstood Jesus, his way and his plans, until the resurrection. Rev. Fr. Mariano Perrón, Roman Catholic priest, Archdiocese of Madrid, Spain