Take off the Mask

The 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s Readings: Isa 50: 5-9; Ps 116; Jas 2: 14-18; Mk 8: 27-35

Four months ago, Apple Computer opened a glitzy new retail store on Fifth Avenue in New York. At street level, this building is a cube made entirely of clear glass—you know, the kind of place that if you live in it, you’re not supposed to throw stones. The pictures are amazing.

This building is so unusual, of course, because we’re used to solid, opaque structures. Walk up and down the streets of our town, and all the houses and buildings are made of materials that you can’t see through: brick and wood and stone and even steel. Not only do these materials make our homes and offices sturdy, but they also give us privacy. The solid walls mask what goes on inside.

Maybe that’s a good thing. Who wants to see us brushing our teeth while wearing those awful fuzzy slippers shaped like bunny rabbits… or having a shouting match with our kids… or doing anything else that we’d just as soon not let anyone in the outside world see!

The idea of covering up our private lives with presentable façades doesn’t just apply to homes and buildings. We also wear masks on our persons as a way to trick or maybe even manipulate others, and to protect ourselves. Put on a bright smile to disguise your fear or anger. Use flattering tones to get what you want. Act real pious when you come into church so people will think you’re holy. Pretend you’re real macho so nobody knows you’re really in the closet. Act like you know what you’re doing at work when you actually don’t have a clue. Hey, all the world’s a stage.

So: Jesus asks the disciples today, “Who do people say that I am?” What do they think of me? Do they look at me as somebody honest and real… or do they think it’s all an act? Do they think I’m a fraud? Do they think I’m wearing a mask?

The disciples answer by rattling off a list of holy men and prophets. “They think you’re like one of those.”

“Oh. But what about you? Who do you say that I am?”

Before considering the answer, imagine that this was a conversation with someone you know very, very well: your mother or father, your husband, your sister, your best friend… Pretend they ask you what people outside in the world say about them: neighbors and classmates and customers and casual acquaintances and relatives of their ex-boyfriend. You can answer: they think you’re a great teacher… a kind and fair business person… a lunatic and a drama queen… a cheat… the world’s best cook… whatever. But you, who know me inside and out… from whom I have no secrets… who do you say that I am?

That’s the question that our Lord laid before the apostles.

And Peter, speaking for the group, answers: “We think you are the Christ.”

Jesus had to have been pleased that they got it. In Matthew’s version of this gospel, the Lord adds: “Blessed are you, Simon. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.”

Fantastic! Now that the twelve members of Christ’s inner circle know that he’s the messiah, he can bring them even more into loop. So he begins to tell them about his mission and what lies ahead: suffering, rejection, death and resurrection.

Obviously, this is not what they expected; they thought that the messiah was going to be a king—and they would have places of honor in his court. Clearly, Christ’s revelation told way more than they wanted to hear! Peter, trying to be a friend, pulls Jesus aside and tells him, “Don’t talk crazy like that!”

Did Jesus say, “Gee, thanks, Peter. You’re right. What was I thinking? Thanks for reminding me that I’m really OK and everything’s going to be fine”? Not exactly. He turns on Peter and snaps, “Get behind me, Satan! You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

Poor Peter. He was always begging Jesus to say things plainly—not tell riddles and parables, but just put it out there. But now that Christ did just that, Peter didn’t like it much. Who would?

Without a doubt, God’s ways are not our ways. God knows our hearts and secrets and vulnerabilities, but how can we cope with knowing God’s heart and secrets? How can we cope with knowing each other’s?

It takes a lot of love.

I read a very provocative comment by a spiritual writer last week. He said that our greatest delusion is thinking everything is just fine when we create for ourselves a righteous exterior or when we outwardly obey laws. All this apparent goodness and morality is worth nothing, because God sees into the human heart. Ruthlessly, his eye penetrates into the deepest recess of the soul. With God, nothing can be kept in darkness.

Yet he loves us anyway! Jesus said: they can reject me and hurt me, but they’ll never win because my love is too strong. God’s loving power within me is an impenetrable shield.

The more I love, the more transparent and vulnerable I may become, but the stronger and safer I am! What a great paradox!

You might take a little time this week and think about what masks you wear and what parts of your life you’re covering up… because showing more of the “real you” may just be a path to deeper holiness. Pray that Christ our Messiah will show you the way.