1Sm 8:4-7, 10-22a; Mk 2:1-12

“Who do you say that I am?  This being the first week in Ordinary Time, First Friday, the beginning of a New Year in the Church quite appropriately begins with the beginning of Jesus ministry claim to be the Son of Man.  We just celebrated Christmas time, our waiting for his coming.  Now that he is here beginning his ministry, “Who do you say that I am?” 

If you recall Moses in the burning bush asks god, “who do I say sent me?”  He responded say that “I Am” sent you. The Israelites knew their scriptures and understood from a prophesy of Daniel that one like “the Son of Man” from all eternity would come to save them.  They expected a king a mortal king to rule over them on earth.  What are all elders of Israel asking of Samuel?  They want a king who will win their battles, who will make them and keep them a free people.  There is an underlying theology to understand.  If you believe that this mortal life is all there is then you live and die to preserve this life, not for you but for your earthly kingdom and your descendants.  You want to safeguard your earthly kingdom and your descendants.  You want to safeguard your earthly treasures whatever they may be.  With this theology we can understand the importance to the elders to have a king rule over them. 

The Elders criticize Samuel because his sons do not follow his example.  Let me pause here from scripture and ask.  What do we wish for our sons and daughters, to be the best God created them to be or to follow our example?  It is not a trick question.  Not that we have been a bad example though we all sin and have our regrets.  We do want them to follow good virtues but that is not the point the Elders are making.  Samuel was a leader and it appears his sons have no interest in becoming the next leader of the people.  We want our children to be good leaders of their home, their profession, their community.  The key work is “their” not “our”.  Historically if a family was not farming it was expected the children would grow up to be farmers and help in the business. We teach our children what we know best and love.  If a man played sports and has that drive to be a warrior, he buys his son a ball and dresses him as the outfits that promote being the “#1 Fan!”  The child may want to grow up and be in the band instead and as parents we might accept it and support them but do our kids feel the same pride from us or do they grow up believing “my dad wanted me to be a farmer, or a football player”.  Have we asked ourselves “have we become the best or ourselves or are we still trying to live up to someone else’s dream for us?  Our desire is for our children to be the best God created them to be.  If they are truly to be a gift to us and to the world we set them free.  Our prayer for them is to discover how they are God’s child.  Now for the rest of the story, as the famous Paul Harvey would say. 

Jesus returns to Capernaum and he was at home.  Can you imagine being away from home for some time maybe to a retreat, or off to college and when you return home to a family reunion you declare, “I am the son of God and plan to live the rest of my life as a saint.”   What would be the response, “You?”  We have ACTS retreats in our community and some return home having experienced a real conversion.  Their family isn’t ready for such a drastic change.  They question, “What happened to you?”  Jesus is prepared to do the will of the Father, to bring forgiveness, mercy, reconciliation to the world.  That is not the type of king they seek.  The reaction of the people is “blasphemer”.  He does the miracle so they may believe that he is “the Son of Man”.  The people recognize that by claiming to be the Son of Man he is making reference to Daniel’s prophesy that says the Son of Man from all eternity will come to rule.  He is the one from heaven destined to come and is now with them.  The miracle is a confirmation of his claim to be from heaven, God with us, Emmanuel.  Take that to the bank as the saying goes.  Some philosophers confuse his claim to be the “Son of Man” as being the son of humanity, more human that divine.  We want to make God more like us what is the “new age” philosophy of ‘I’m ok, you’re ok” not to change us to be more like God.  Church teaching is Jesus is fully human and fully God, the second person of the Trinity, coming to restore our humanity to his divinity.  Thus we should claim to live our lives as saints.  I am called we are called to be with the great I Am.