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Many of us remember Billy Graham, the most popular American preacher of the 20^thcentury…

He once shared a story about his wife, Ruth, who was driving through construction for miles on a highway. After carefully following the detours and warning signs, she finally came to the last sign that read:

“End of construction. Thank you for your patience…”

Struck by the message, she went home chuckling, and told Billy she wanted that line engraved on her tombstone:   “End of construction. Thank you for your patience.”

***

In our journey through life, we all have our share of successes and failures, highs and lows, detours and bumps in the road.

From our very first breath until our very last, we  are all “under construction,” a work in progress.

 ***

In today’s Gospel, Peter and the other disciples reach a pivotal moment in their journey with Jesus. After months and miles of listening to his words and witnessing his deeds, Jesus asks them, “Who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29)…

This is perhaps the most important question Jesus will ever ask his disciples, including us.  “Who do you say that I am?” …

It demands a personal response, a response that ultimately shapes our lives.

If Jesus is simply a moral teacher, for example, then he becomes one of many voices we listen to. While inspiring, his teachings will not shape us… We may even leave his word behind if a more attractive idea comes along.

But if he is God, then everything Jesus says has eternal value. What he says, we must do — keeping in mind that following Jesus is a life-long project.

Thus we’re still under construction; God isn’t done with us just yet!

***

Again, Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” 

Peter pipes up, “You are the Christ” – God in the flesh! And because of this, Peter is willing to leave everything behind and follow him (Mark 8:29).

In Matthew Gospel, immediately after Peter makes this personal profession of faith, Jesus tells him, “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church!” (Matthew 16:18)

But if Peter is this rock, then why does Jesus issue his sternest rebuke, calling him Satan only a few verses later?

***

Peter still doesn’t understand what it means to follow Jesus. “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,” Jesus says, “take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34).

Though Peter thought he had Jesus figured out, clearly he was wrong. Peter’s faith is still under construction… we might say, a work in progress.

***

How many of us feel like Saint Peter?

There are days when our faith is strong, when we embrace our crosses and follow Jesus wholeheartedly.

And then there are days when our faith is weak, when we hit a bump in the road and fall into temptation.

Just like Saint Peter, our faith is under construction; we’re a work in progress.

But Jesus is patient with us. He will not abandon us when we’re weak. He simply kneels down, washes our feet, and invites us to try again.

As he says to Peter today, “Get behind me…” 

That is, “get behind me… and follow me” (Mark 8:33-34).

***

Jesus is the Christ, the only one who can lead us through the construction of life – through the detours, the curves, and the bumps in the road – into his kingdom.

Where, then, is Jesus saying to me now, “Get behind me… and follow me”?

 

We have all had the experience of being caught in a crowd. Whether we’re pushing our way out of a concert, or inching our way into the subway, we know what it feels like to be scrunched like sardines in a can.

Imagine how frightened this man in today’s Gospel must have felt. He was surrounded by hundreds of people who were sick, wounded, or possessed.

Some of them were screaming, others were pleading. All them were trying to make their way to Jesus, the miracle worker.

They wanted his attention; they wanted to be healed.

But it’s this man who catches his attention. Perhaps it was his desperate face,  or the faith of his friends who never gave up.

When Jesus stops, he pulls this blessed man aside, and gives him his undivided attention.

Imagine that – having the undivided attention of God…

***

Though Jesus can heal this man’s deafness with a single word, he deliberately puts his finger into his ear, touching the most wounded part his life, a sign that Jesus understands the pain his deafness has caused.

The years of isolation – of being unable to hear or to speak – of feeling trapped within the walls of his own body, Jesus understands.

And as he touches him, Jesus  “groans,” feeling his pain, crying out to the heavens on his behalf, “Ephphatha! Be opened!”

Be healed!

Instantly, this man runs off to tell everyone he knows about Jesus of Nazareth, the one who changed his life.

***

Part of the pain of deafness is the fact that it isn’t instantly visible to others. It takes time before we realize someone cannot hear us – to see they are deaf.

That, really, is a symbol of the wounds many of us carry – often they’re hidden, tucked away from the outside world.

It takes time before others see we are wounded.

If we opened our hearts to Jesus right now, what part of us would need to be touched or healed?

Where have we become cold, or deafened to his voice?

***

Like that man in the Gospel, Jesus wants to pull us away from the crowds and the distractions of life; he wants to give us his undivided attention.

“Ephphatha!”

That is his prayer for us this morning, that we “be opened!” to his voice… that we be opened to new ways of living…new ways of thinking… that we be opened to an ever deeper sense of God’s presence in our lives.

***

And not only us — but everyone around us.

***

Remember the crowds in the Gospel. They were scrunched like sardines in a can, all trying to inch their way to Jesus. They all wanted to be healed.

Our world and our families are no different. People still want to be healed. But like the deaf man in the Gospel, often they need a friend to lead them to Jesus.

We can be that friend.

How many people have asked us, for example, why we are Catholic, or why we go to Mass on Sundays, especially in this current climate?

***

What an opportunity to share the Gospel with them! People are looking for answers – and ultimately for the Truth. We can bring them to Jesus.

As Saint Peter says, “always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope” (1 Peter3:15).

***

We’re being challenged to think about our faith, about why Jesus matters to us, and to share that faith openly with others.

How might we do that this week?

 

 

There are few events in our world that change the course of history.

D-Day was one of them.

On June 6, 1944, … 156,000 Allied Troops stormed the beaches of Normandy. This operation would mark the beginning of the end of World War Two.

For three days, tens of thousands of young men – many barely 18 years of age – fought along the beaches of northern France, eventually pushing their way towards Paris.

Together, they would bring an end to Hitler and Nazi Germany, effectively changing the course of human history.

Though there are many lessons we can learn from their example, there is one, in particular, that applies to us today: Never give up.

***

In the Gospel, Jesus asks his disciples a haunting question, “Do you also want to leave?” (John 6:66).

We might say, “Do you also want to give up?”

In a single day, Jesus’ swelling community of believers drops from 5,000 to 12, all because of his teachings.

We are now at the end of John’s Bread of Life discourse, in which Jesus describes himselfas the Bread of Life. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood,” he says, “has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day” (John 6:54).

Scandalized by this idea of consuming Christ’s flesh, many walk away in disbelief.

4,988 disciples to be exact.

***

A similar phenomenon is happening in our Church today. People are leaving in droves.

But what makes our situation starkly different from the Gospel is the fact that we’ve not been scandalized by preaching the Truth like Jesus did; rather, we’ve been scandalized by the fact that some of our leaders entrusted with Christ’s authority on earth have abused it.

We’ve all seen the news. It’s the painful pink elephant in the room.

Though the Church has done great good, and many Saints have arisen in our midst, the Church has also mismanaged evil for decades, allowing wolves in sheepskin to breathe and operate in our midst.

And now we’re left feeling betrayed, angry, hurt, and confused.

So the question Jesus asked his disciples rings hauntingly true and relevant in our own hearts today: “Do we also want to leave?” (John 6:66).

***

While I hope – and pray – that all of us will stay, we must be clear about why. What we are fighting for?

Jesus commanded us – his Church– to, “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). This is our mission. This is why the Church exists.

We must remember that.

We have Good News to share with the world! Jesus died and was raised from the dead! And he promises to raise all of us up who have believed in him.

Even more, it is here – and only here – that we can receive his resurrected Body in the Eucharist.

We cannot allow the sins of others to distract us from this truth. Jesus even warned us about this.

In his own words, he says, “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to that person through whom they occur. It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea” (Luke 17:1-2).

Jesus is aware that the weeds are growing with the wheat, even in his own Church. We who have been faithful, however, we who have hoped and believed in his message, will be saved.

But woe to those who’ve caused us scandal.

***

Remember what happened on Omaha beach – history was forever changed.

Tens of thousands of young soldiers fought together to bring an end to World War Two. But for those who survived those initial days in Normandy, there was still another year of fighting to go.

Hitler wasn’t going down easily.

But our brothers never gave up. They fought until they won.

Similarly, there’s a long way for us to go before our Church is rid entirely of scandal.

But we cannot give up; we must continue to pray and push for reform. In particular, we must ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of wisdom to know what practical changes are needed in order for us to be most effective, and for the courage to make those changes happen.

***

“Do you also want to leave?”

I hope and pray not. But if we choose to stay, then we must move forward together as a community of faith, united in our mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ.

In the words of Peter, whose own faith was challenged, “Lord, to whom shall we go; you have the words of everlasting life” (John 6:68).