QUESTIONS ? ?
GOSPEL READING : Matthew 16. 13-19 :
Some people don’t like questions in their lives. They never want to meet someone asking about this or that. I personally think that questions are necessary in our lives as they allow us to step forward with something we know as true.
This reminds me about a Tanzanian Tribe named the “Haya” which has a habit I personally envy because it appears to be useful in building a strong united community. It is told that every morning indeed, as they wake up and before they go to any other activities, the first thing the “Haya” do in their village is to go from one hut to the other checking whether people there are safe and that nothing bad happened to them during the night : “How are you doing today ?, They ask with deep concern. Did you spend a good night ? Is anybody sick today? Will you be able to go and fetch some water from the river or get firewood in the bush or should we help you? How are grandmother and grandfather doing? And the sick boy whom the sorcerer treated yesterday, is he doing better?,etc.
So early every morning, the “Haya” village is filled with people going and coming, except the elderly and the youngest staying at home. And this is done EVERY MORNING, DURING YEARS AND YEARS. I find such a village to be a lovely place to live, a better one than the best hotels and beaches around the world where people are lonely and nobody talks to the other. On the other hand, I personally believe that Jesus Christ never allowed his Disciples to be caught with loneliness. HE ALWAYS HAD A QUESTION FOR THEM, A QUESTION TO AWAKEN THEIR HEART, like: “Will you also go away? “(John 6:67, NIV), “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? (Matthew 16:13,KJV), “Whom say ye that I am ?”(Matthew 16:15, KJV).
Of course, Jesus knew who He was and He was not trying to understand it from what people said of Him. The strange thing is that people knew Jesus in completely different manners from what He wanted them to have known Him. Calling Him one of the prophets was simply something that made clear the great thirst the Jews had in their hearts for having not heard a prophet of God speaking for 400 years, the years of silence, between the Old and the New Testaments. But from where did Peter got inspiration as to know Jesus was “The Christ, the Son of the Living God”? A certain preacher said that Peter had probably discovered the secret from the prayer Jesus taught them saying “Our Father which art in Heaven…” and also by the many times Jesus had said “My Father, my Father who sent me from heaven, etc”, and that he might have discussed about it passionately and over proudly with the other fellow-Disciples insisting that the Man they were following was Christ, the Son of the Living God. Thus, Peter was perhaps waiting for a good opportunity to test with Jesus Himself whether what he had discovered and understood was true or wrong. Fortunately, IT WAS TRUE!
A rich over proud man owned a big Brewery. Every Monday morning, he used to ask his employees to tell him what people in the city thought and said of him and his company. Of course, they always had something to report to the boss but also knew that he wanted to always hear praises that he was a good person. So, when they praised him with good words, he continued to report at his office and even paying them their salaries correctly with bonuses. But when they told him that people said he was a bad person, this man would spend days without reporting at the factory and could even fire some of them without any reason. Most of his employees lived in a poor suburb very far from the factory and used to get to job late when it rained. Consequently during the rainy season, these employees decided to always tell him that people do not like his company and that they said he was miser. This made him not report to job for a whole week and the latecomers could escape from being fired. But when the end of the month approached, they always praised him with false reports from the city and so the boss was there from morning to evening paying them their salaries joyfully.
This is what men are in this world. Their expression and their look, change according to what is said about them. The Bible tells us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever”(Hebrews 13:8). He remains Christ, the Son of the Living God even when you and I say He is simply a prophet we can silence whenever we want. He remains the Saviour sent by the Father and keeps working His Ministry up to Calvary even when we call him Beelzebub. Jesus remains eternally “Lord of lords” as George Frederick Handel wrote of Him from his Messiah “…And He shall reign forever and ever… Lord of lords and King of kings…Halelujah, halelujah, halelujah !” Yes, He reigns Forever and Ever ON THE FIVE CONTINENTS through His infinite “Agape”!
In Christ’s Love,
Bishop, Dr. Justin Baransananikiye
President,
CHRISTIANS STRENGTHENING CHRISTIANS
http://iprayforyou.worthyofpraise.org
http://christiansstrengtheningchristian.doodlekit.com/blog