Friday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

 Lectionary: 453

Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.”
He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.

As I bicycled to theology school back in the early 1970's, I watched one day as a pair of dogs followed their well-worn path over a hill toward a set of buildings. Although the hill was not steep, the path was not straight. It seemed to meander to the left before turning directly toward the buildings.

From my higher vantage on a bicycle, I could see their destination before the dogs saw it. And I supposed that's why their dog path wandered. While I saw beyond the hilltop; they saw only the hill. 

When the Lord "rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone," I suppose he knew better than his disciples what was to happen in Jerusalem. We may suppose he knew this by Divine Inspiration; but it may have been, more simply, inspired intuition. It doesn't take a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing. Because His mind was unclouded by his personal preferences, or anyone else's; and because he knew a pious scruple about killing innocent persons could not withstand a direct assault of evil, he would certainly die of extreme violence in Jerusalem. Anyone could see that Herodians, Sadducees, and Pharisees collaborated with the Roman to keep the peace. And he had not come to Jerusalem to bring peace. (Mt 10:34)

There is a time for everything under heaven, as Qoheleth said. There would be a time to announce his mission as the Messiah, and a time to reveal his divinity; but there must first be violence -- the violence of a sacrifice, of human sacrifice, of crucifixion. The Son of God would offer himself as a sacrifice to Almighty God for the salvation of the world.  

Those who wait on the Lord learn to wait on his time, and to listen for his signal. Before his death and resurrection, Peter and his buddies often swore their undying loyalty to the Lord; they were ready to die for him! And they would. When that time came for them and they were ready -- but it was not yet.

But the time to declare we are ready to die for him? Does that moment ever come? For some it might. We know ancient and recent stories of martyrs who insistently volunteered to die before they died. Saint Maximillian Kolbe, imprisoned with his Polish people, voluntarily took the place of another who had been arbitrarily chosen to die. Saint Aglaius was assigned to prevent 39 naked Christians from escaping a frozen lake on a bitterly cold night. Inspired by their courage, he stripped and joined them; and is remembered as one of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste. When Saint Charles Lwanga and his companions were led away to be martyred, several young disciples chased after them to die with them. 

Few of us can imagine such devotion; nor should we pretend to be ready for That Day. With the Lord's Prayer we pray daily not to be led into such temptation. But we can also pray daily to do God's Will; and we desire to do His Will with all our hearts, souls, mind, and strength.