Sunday Gospel Comment
Alberic Jacovone OSB
YEAR B TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY - 17.9.06 Is 50,5-9; Jas 2,14-18; Mk 8,27-35 Radiating Christ’s energy The
power of Christening. Often
in Christian art, -& on large Hosts that we use at Mass -we find a cryptic
word, XP: it shows 2 capital letters
of Greek alphabeth: ‘Chi & Rho’.
At times they are super-imposed & stand for “Ch-R” in the word
‘Christ’, the key-word that has given meaning & energy to Christianity
since its start. From ‘Christ’, other “power-words” have derived. Today
we are invited to discover the energy hidden in the word “Christ”, as
today’s Gospel presents the central words of Peter ‘You are the Christ’;
as indeed the whole of Mark’s Gospel answers a question: who is Christ?. It
starts with the verse: ‘Beginning of the Gospel of Jesus, the Christ - Son of
God’ (1,1); - it reaches a climax in today’s words: ‘You are the
Christ!’; - & it ends with the words of a Roman Centurion: ‘Truly this
man was God’s Son’ (15,39). Only this, Mark wants to tell us: Truly Jesus is
the Christ (or Messiah) - He came from king David’s line - was foretold in the
Scriptures & destined to be a ‘man of sorrows’. The Hebrew word
‘Meshiah’ carries the same meaning, as the Greek ‘Christos’ (=Christ):
one transliterates the other & both have to do with a cultic action, where
someone is anointed & perfumed. In all ancient cultures, kings (& the
Pharaohs in Egypt), were anointed on their enthronement day. In Old Testament
days, kings priests & prophets were anointed to signify God’s commission
& empowerment. We recall that King David was anointed by Samuel, while still
a young boy, in preference to his 7 strong & sturdy brothers: ‘David was a
good-looking boy with red cheeks & bright eyes, & Samuel blessed David
& poured oil on his head. From then on, God was with him’. From David’s
line, Jesus -the Messiah (=the Christ)- was born. Christian
means ‘the Lord’s anointed’. The term Christ ( in Greek
‘Christos’, in Hebrew ‘Meshiah’ = Messiah), is past participle of a
verb, meaning ‘one who is anointed or anointed one’. Central to Christianity
is the conviction that Jesus is: Anointed One, Christ
& awaited Messiah. He is anointed with the Holy Spirit, appointed to fulfill
God’s promise & plan for
humanity. We can follow the inner logic of this conviction, lining-up the
key-concepts from the Greek language. We have: the verb ‘Chrio’
(= to anoint), the noun Chrysm (=
ointment), the verb to Chrysten &
Christening (= to anoint & the
act of anointing with Chrysm), Chrysmation
(= the action of rubbing ointment), Cresima
(in English is called ‘Confirmation’ & is an anointing with Chrysm),
Christ (= is past participle of the verb ‘Chrio’ & means one who is
anointed), Christian (=the person who
-like Christ- has been Christened), Christianity
(= the world-wide communion of those who are ‘anointed’), & other
words like: christianism, christology,
christological. In all these words, utmost importance is given to the
ointment or Chrysm, as it symbolizes & it brings about an outpouring of the
Holy Spirit. Just as the word ‘Christ’ implies that in Jesus God’s Spirit
came at His Baptism, so the Holy Spirit is poured on us, as the above words
operate. Today, ask yourself: what does it feel like to say with Peter: You are
the Christ? or to say: I am a Christian, anointed -like Christ- with God’s
Holy Spirit? How does my Christening anoint & empower me to live & act
in a Christ-like way (in persona Christi)? Do I link the term “Messiah”
(=Anointed One) with God’s promises made to king David, about the ‘Lord’s
anointed’ as intermediary & representative with us all? What hidden energy grows in me, as I pray: Jesus, you are the Lord’s
anointed, & you want me to be: Christened, anointed with God’s Spirit
& sustained by the oil of the sick. ______________________________________ |
