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"Don't call me a saint - I don't want to be dismissed that easily." Dorothy Day spoke these words in response to those who described her as a living saint. She is a woman well worth knowing, a woman well ahead of her times, she lived the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Ironically, in light of her protests, Dorothy is officially in the process of being considered for sainthood.
One of the books I use in class proclaims that Jesus does not want admiration, but imitation. If that is true - and I think it tells at least part of the story - it's for the same reason that Dorothy Day did not want to be "dismissed" as a saint. Admiration is cheap, in a way; imitation requires commitment and action. It will change us.
The selection from Mark's Gospel is extremely important. It's a turning point, a refocusing on who Jesus is. Up to this time we see Jesus performing acts of power, healing, exorcism - but not allowing folks to talk about it. Jesus commands silence. It seems odd - why not spread the good news? And anyway, those healed or freed from the grip of evil go out and tell the world despite Jesus' command. What's this secrecy about?
Some scholars think that Jesus commands secrecy because He does not want "admiration" - that is, He doesn't want people to see him in terms of flashy displays of power, as a wonder worker to be oohed and ah-ed at. Jesus is not about glory for Himself. His identity lies elsewhere.
Simon Peter - for the first time in this Gospel - clearly and openly identified Jesus as the Christ. This time Jesus does not deflect the recognition; indeed, Jesus affirms Simon Peter's profession of faith.
But then Jesus immediately begins to speak about the Cross-, about his death and resurrection, much to the discomfort of the disciples and Peter. And Jesus turns that talk about the Cross into an invitation to follow Him, which means to follow on the way of the Cross into suffering, rejection, death and, yes, in the end resurrection and new life. What Jesus wants is not admiration but imitation - not to bask in power and glory but to follow on the way of the Cross.
It's easy to admire Christ; it's easy to admire the saints. It is much more difficult to allow their lives to shape and transform our own, to follow or imitate their virtues. We will be changed - and despite what we say, most of us don't like change that, in fact, hurts, costs.
Dorothy Day lived the Gospel life, actively loving the poor, witnessing for peace, standing up for justice - the right of women to vote, the rights of workers, equality for people of color; she imitated Jesus - and she paid for it. She was jailed, harassed by the government and by church leaders, threatened and endured challenging changes in her personal life, all for the love of Christ.
The truth about Jesus is revealed on the Cross.
To be Christian is to profess our faith in Jesus
not only with our lips (admiration)
but with our lives (imitation)
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