The Son of Man must suffer a lot … Dear brothers and sisters! When Jesus asked his disciples who people thought he was, his disciples answered as they usually heard in conversations with people. Some considered him John the Baptist, others Elijah, and others one of the ancient prophets. Thus, the apostles expressed the opinions that other people had about Jesus. We also sometimes express the opinions that other people speak about Christ, the Church, and those who serve us in the Church. But the final question, which was directed from Jesus to the apostles, directly concerned them: „And who do you think I am? Do you adhere to the opinion you hear from other people, or do you have your own opinion? Are you satisfied with what someone is telling you, or are you forming your own opinion, your own opinion that you know, or are you getting to know, and which you are also trying to stand behind with your life?“ When Peter answered this question and called Jesus God’s Messiah, God’s Son, he gave the truest and fullest answer. However, he gave it not based on what people say but on what he experienced and tried with Christ and God. Brothers and sisters, every opinion of ours that is formed and that has a relationship with God, with the Church, with the people who represent the Church to us, be it a bishop, a priest, or the Pope himself, is created from personal experience with Christ. We see that the apostles spent time praying with Jesus. And this prayer was followed by questions and answers. This is a guide on how a person can form opinions correctly. If we catch an opinion that we hear from outside, and it becomes our own opinion, but I don’t have it prayed over inside, we are always in danger of being wrong. What many people like at first glance, or what they talk about, does not always carry the absolute truth. We can come to the truth only when we pray with Christ. The apostles could very easily accept the opinions that people had about Christ. And yet they expressed a completely different, fuller, more profound truth than everyone else. Prayer leads us to know the truth in full. But it also leads us to other values. If a person once recognizes that this is Christ, the Son of God, he is willing to accept everything further related to it in this truth. After Peter’s confession, after learning the whole truth, Jesus made it clear to Peter what would be related to it. He added: „The son of man will suffer a lot, they will imprison him, they will kill him, but on the third day he will rise from the dead.“ What was Jesus bringing closer to him, what was Jesus bringing closer to the Twelve at that moment? He brought them closer to the truth that whoever recognized Christ as his Savior, whoever recognized him as the Messiah, the Son of God, should be willing to accept from God’s hand all that God gives to man in life: moments easy and difficult, pleasant and unpleasant, crosses that push us, or even moments when we are completely helpless, when we no longer know how to deal with ourselves or others, when we are at the very bottom. Jesus continued to say to Peter: „ Only he who loses his life for me will find it.“
Brothers and sisters, when a person finds himself in his helplessness, this is the most fertile time in a person’s life, when God’s life, God’s kingdom, is born in him. While we still seem to have something in reach, what we think we have in our niches can prevent us from accepting what God offers us. We can also protest when we have nothing and can’t do anything anymore. We do not like to identify with such a state and defend ourselves against it as best we can. Furthermore, we are actually resisting what can help us know God in our lives. Did you not become rich in the very moments when you had nothing but trust in God? But we like those moments when we have a lot of wealth in our hands, when we want to be something. And when God takes it from us, or leads us to it, that He wants to take it from us, to let it go, and embrace him, then we can protest a lot.
We see it in the family, in the workplace, anywhere! We immediately stand up for ourselves and protest against what God offers us. How many such protests are at home? Let’s look at children as they begin to grow up. Occasionally, some protest against something: „I don’t have a word here anymore! No one here takes me seriously, “your daughter will tell you. „Why don’t you take me into account, how long will I have to nod to everything?“ – your son will tell you. And finally, he tells you: „ I’ve had enough.“ How many times will the wife, the mother in the family, say: „ I’ve had enough, I won’t be a slave to everyone here!“ Why do you reject your weakness, your impotence, and limitations? Even the husband and father sometimes say that he has had enough. And he has reasons for it. In our weakness, when we show our discontent, we indirectly protest against what God is giving us reasonably to our measure. Have you ever received anything in your life that exceeded the carrying capacity you could handle? God tests us to the extreme, but never so we can no longer bear it. Even in Elijah’s life, we know the moments when he protested against God.
When, after several calls to the nation to return to faith in one God, he saw that these people were soon returning to their gods again, he said in his inner bitterness to the Lord God, „Lord, enough is enough. Better take me in than talk to this nation that doesn’t listen to you anyway.“ Elijah expresses his protest. But God does not take this defiance into account. He leaves Elijah his mission, which he entrusted to him. Ultimately, Elias himself will discover that it can still be managed. It can be endured both with God and with an unyielding nation.
Brothers and sisters, everything that comes into our lives, whether it’s people or different circumstances or situations, is tailor-made. If we can confess that the Son of God is the Messiah and that our following Christ, the Son of God, does not consist only in stating who we consider him to be, but we express throughout our lives, that we are willing to receive from God’s hand everything he gives us, we will never become people who will grumble about everything. Of course, in the heart we can disagree with many things and struggle hard, but the moment we put them before God, before Jesus Christ, a decision is born in us to accept anything from the hand of God.
You may know a legend about a husband who could no longer carry the burden of his wife. He came before St. Peter and complained that he had too heavy a cross. And St. Peter generously says to him: „ Whatever you like, come and see, here are different crosses, you can choose a more appropriate one yourself. But don’t look at the name of that cross that is written on the other side. “ And the husband, when he received this opportunity from Peter, ran between the crosses to choose the better one. At first, he headed for the smallest, but when he caught it, he found that he wouldn’t even move it, since it was heavy, although it was minimal. You said it wasn’t for him. Immediately after that, he went to another cross and caught it, but although it was very light, it was so long that it was impossible to walk with it. Then he liked one adequate cross, but it was very prickly and could not be carried away because of its thorns. And so he passed between all the crosses. One was cold, another square… and no and no to choose. Finally, he liked one and said to himself, „Neither of them is proper for me, but hopefully this one will be the most suitable. “ When he came to Peter with him, he says to him: „Then now read the name of that cross.“ And he read: „Emilie Bačová.” – „It’s my wife!“ – „Well, you see, you chose what is most appropriate for you, what God gave you long ago in his providence. She is your most appropriate cross. But don’t forget that you are an equally appropriate cross for her.”
Brothers and sisters, these are relationships with people. We could also similarly see relationships with things. They are always adequate for us, tailored to our measure with God’s thread and needle. Let us not resist them, let us generously accept them, and if we can confess: „ You are the Christ, the Son of God,“ then let us admit: „ You are the Christ, the Son of God, in all that we can live daily.“
Hello. And Bye.