How do we live out our duty to the poor and oppressed in an
increasingly segregated society? When I
use the word segregated I didn't mean what you likely thought I meant. We segregate ourselves along demographic
lines at least as much as along racial lines.
Most of our churches aren't just monochromatic we also tend to be within
a narrow range of economic strata. Every
church I have belonged to or pastured has fit that mold, middle to upper middle
class, with an outlier here and there. I
don’t have to worry about the parable of the Good Samaritan very much because I
mostly avoid the neighborhoods where I am likely to see someone beaten and
lying in a ditch. Such things don't
happen to my friends. How then do we
connect with and love the poor and oppressed focused on in this first
reading? If we would live out the
consistent mandate of Scripture we need to consider this question and we need
to do more than post our concern on social media. It is important that we get outside our
comfort zones and try and bring hope and justice. I am not suggesting it is easy but I am
saying we have to spend the time and energy to work it out.
Can you imagine looking at another person and saying that
you believe that they are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God? How hard would it be to actually believe
that? We believe it for a couple of
reasons, the Resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, but Peter
believed it at this moment without the Resurrection, based only on what he had
seen and heard so far. Jesus says he is
blessed because flesh and blood hadn't revealed that truth, but the
Father. It was so incredible, literally
not credible or believable, that it wasn't possible to firmly hold such an idea
without help from God. Afterwards, Jesus
exults in this confession and this man, Peter, the church will be built on this
man and his confession, intertwined together, and the keys to the kingdom will
be given him. What a moment! Then, Jesus tells them not to tell
anyone. He didn't give us that command,
in fact we are to tell everyone.
What is it that tempts you to not honor Him as King? What is it that takes your heart away from
Him? We look at the life of Jesus and we
see that nothing, not forty days of fasting, not fame or glory, not opposition,
not the disciples, not the ability to do miracles, not suffering, nothing, took
His focus from the Father. We know that
just after our Gospel lesson Peter will be tempted to turn away because Jesus
said He would suffer and die. We know
that Peter turned away during that awful night of trials. It is hard to follow Him and He knew it. We have to keep our eyes fixed on Him and
remember that this life is only a brief moment and that we have eternity ahead
of us.
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