Foot Notes

In the silence “Behold God beholding you...and smiling.”Anthony de Mello

We answer: People say you are one of the prophets
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." 17 And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven....
20 Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. Matthew 16: 13 – 17, 20, NRSV

The people, the disciples say, think that you, Jesus, are one of the prophets, maybe Elijah or Jeremiah. Is that a compliment Master? Would you like to be compared to those? I guess we often look to the past to explain what is happening now. We think that somehow indeed history does repeat itself. We are by nature a species that organizes reality by seeing patterns and likenesses. Some of us think we’re smart enough to figure it out and not be led astray. Maybe however it’s because our brain can actually only process a limited amount of data at a time that we generalize so. In any case it is hard for us to absorb that something new is happening, that the Son of Man is more than what we have always expected. Even those of us who follow, who call ourselves disciples, probably don’t recognize the shattering nature of who you are Jesus. It’s beyond our comprehension so we retreat. Indeed the known box is quite comfortable. Don’t ask for so much Lord. Let me sit please and just be as I’ve always been. Be one of those prophets that we can ignore.