One of the greatest weaknesses that we face in our lives is that of “misunderstanding”.
>> Personal relationships can undergo crisis due to misunderstandings.
>> Business affairs can prove disastrous due to misunderstandings.
>> Societal interactions can go haywire due to misunderstandings.
>> Community dealings can go wrong due to misunderstandings.
And the opposite is also true…
… Understandings can become the one of the greatest strengths of our lives too!
>> Personal relations can bloom when we understand well.
>> Business affairs can strike gold when there is good understanding.
>> Societal dealings can be peaceful when there is an amicable understanding.
>> Community interactions can be heavenly when there is mutual understanding.
Understandings and Misunderstandings play a vital role in our daily life and existence!
The Gospel of the Day invites each one of us, to examine what is our perspective of the Lord:
Am I understanding Him well….and thus, is He a strength to me?
>> Or am I misunderstanding Him….and this, is He proving a stumbling block to me?
Understanding or Misunderstanding Jesus will play the pivotal role in our daily spiritual existence!
On reaching Caesarea Philippi (Mt 16:13), Jesus poses a dual question to His disciples…
Who do people say that He is …and Who do the Disciples say that He is.
This two-fold question of Christ…evokes two answers….
1. The Opinion of Jesus as being only Human
>> The people understand Jesus as John the Baptist, or Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the prophets (Mt 16: 14)

2. The Opinion of Jesus as being only Divine
>> St Peter, as the Captain of the Group, with a heavenly revelation, declares Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God! (Mt 16: 16)
It’s interesting that after this question-answer session, the Lord Himself chooses to give an answer on who He is!

And this answer of the Lord is a key to our understanding or misunderstanding Jesus.

Jesus declares that He would be a suffering God….
He would be the Man to undergo many persecutions! (Mt 16: 21)

>> He is not only Human.
>> He is not only Divine.
… He is the Suffering God-Man!
Am I able to accept this reality dimension of Jesus?

He is amazing in His Human teachings… He is wonderful in His Divine Deeds.
>> But He is also the Afflicted, the Maltreated, the Victimized and the Wronged.

He is classic in His Human examples.. He is awesome in His Divine miracles.
>> But He is also the Suffering, the Persecuted, the Sacrificied and the Tortured.
>> He is not only Human.
>> He is not only Divine.
… He is the Suffering God-Man!

And like Peter, perhaps some of us shy away from accepting this Painful Reality of the Lord…
… “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you” (Mt 16: 22)
We love to follow Him in His exhortations…
>> We love to be enamoured in His wondrous doings.

But we back off…at the mention of His pains, difficulties, persecutions and anguish.
>> We like a Sociable Christ…
… One Who gives equal status to all in the society and breaks sociological barriers

>> We like a political Christ…
… One Who is fearless to challenge the political corruption of the society

>> We like a Revolutionary Christ…
… One Who demands to go beyond the comfort zones of our life
But do we embrace the Suffering Christ?
>> Do we accept the “Saviour” Christ?

Do we consent to the Crucified Christ?

It’s easy to misunderstand Jesus as only a mere human hero.
>> It’s easy to misunderstand Jesus as only a awesome Divine entity.
But it’s not so to understand and accept Him as the Heroic and Awesome and Suffering God-Man!

Understanding or Misunderstanding Jesus will play the pivotal role in our daily spiritual existence!

Today, let us seek for the grace to accept and understand truly the Person and Divinity of Jesus.

Let us make Him the true strength of our lives.
>> Let us behold Him in the Eucharist.
>> Let us encounter Him in prayer.
>> Let us recognize Him in the Word!

 

God bless! Live Jesus