Lebanon: full text of the Pope's homily during Holy Mass on Sunday
(Vatican Radio) On September 16th , the final day of his three day Apostolic visit
to Lebanon Pope Benedict presided over Holy Mass Mass of the consigning of the post-Synodal
Apostolic Exhhortation at Beirut's waterfront.
Below the full text of the homily:
Sunday 16 September 2012
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
“Blessed
be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” (Eph 1:3). Blessed be God on this day
when I have the joy of being here with you, in Lebanon, to consign to the Bishops
of the region my Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Medio Oriente! I
offer heartfelt thanks to His Beatitude Bechara Boutros Raï for his kind words of
welcome. I greet the other Patriarchs and Bishops of the Eastern Churches, the Latin
Bishops of the neighbouring regions, and the Cardinals and Bishops who have come from
other countries. I greet all of you with great affection, dear brothers and sisters
from Lebanon and from throughout this beloved region of the Middle East, as you join
with the Successor of Peter in celebrating Jesus Christ crucified, dead and risen.
My respectful greeting goes also to the President of the Republic, to the Lebanese
authorities, and to the leaders and followers of the other religious traditions who
have elected to be present this morning. On this Sunday when the Gospel asks us
about the true identity of Jesus, we find ourselves transported with the disciples
to the road leading to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. Jesus asks them: “Who
do you say that I am?” (Mk 8:29). The moment he chose to ask this question is not
insignificant. Jesus was facing a decisive turning-point in his life. He was going
up to Jerusalem, to the place where the central events of our salvation would take
place: his crucifixion and resurrection. In Jerusalem too, following these events,
the Church would be born. And at this decisive moment, Jesus first asks his disciples:
“Who do men say that I am?” (Mk 8:27). They give very different answers: John the
Baptist, Elijah, one of the prophets! Today, as down the centuries, those who encounter
Jesus along their own way give their own answers. These are approaches which can
be helpful in finding the way to truth. But while not necessarily false, they remain
insufficient, for they do not go to the heart of who Jesus is. Only those willing
to follow him on his path, to live in fellowship with him in the community of his
disciples, can truly know who he is. Finally, Peter, who had dwelt with Jesus for
some time, gives his answer: “You are the Christ” (Mk 8:29). It is the right answer,
of course, but it is still not enough, since Jesus feels the need to clarify it.
He realizes that people could use this answer to advance agendas which are not his,
to raise false temporal hopes in his regard. He does not let himself be confined
to the attributes of the human saviour which many were expecting. By telling his
disciples that he must suffer and be put to death, and then rise again, Jesus wants
to make them understand his true identity. He is a Messiah who suffers, a Messiah
who serves, and not some triumphant political saviour. He is the Servant who obeys
his Father’s will, even to giving up his life. This had already been foretold by
the prophet Isaiah in today’s first reading. Jesus thus contradicts the expectations
of many. What he says is shocking and disturbing. We can understand the reaction
of Peter who rebukes him, refusing to accept that his Master should suffer and die!
Jesus is stern with Peter; he makes him realize that anyone who would be his disciple
must become a servant, just as he became Servant. Following Jesus means taking
up one’s cross and walking in his footsteps, along a difficult path which leads not
to earthly power or glory but, if necessary, to self-abandonment, to losing one’s
life for Christ and the Gospel in order to save it. We are assured that this is the
way to the resurrection, to true and definitive life with God. Choosing to walk in
the footsteps of Jesus Christ, who made himself the Servant of all, requires drawing
ever closer to him, attentively listening to his word and drawing from it the inspiration
for all that we do. In promulgating the Year of Faith, which is due to begin next
11 October, I wanted each member of the faithful to renew his or her commitment to
undertaking this path of sincere conversion. Throughout this Year, then, I strongly
encourage you to reflect more deeply on the faith, to appropriate it ever more consciously
and to grow in fidelity to Christ Jesus and his Gospel. Brothers and sisters,
the path on which Jesus wishes to guide us is a path of hope for all. Jesus’ glory
was revealed at the very time when, in his humanity, he seemed weakest, particularly
through the incarnation and on the cross. This is how God shows his love; he becomes
our servant and gives himself to us. Is this not an amazing mystery, one which is
at times difficult to accept? The Apostle Peter himself would only come to understand
it later. In today’s second reading, Saint James tells us to what extent our walking
in the footsteps of Jesus, if it is to be authentic, demands concrete actions. “I,
by my works, will show you my faith” (Jas 2:18). It is an imperative task of the
Church to serve and of Christians to be true servants in the image of Jesus. Service
is a foundational element of the identity of Christ’s followers (cf. Jn 13:15-17).
The vocation of the Church and of each Christian is to serve others, as the Lord himself
did, freely and impartially. Consequently, in a world where violence constantly leaves
behind its grim trail of death and destruction, to serve justice and peace is urgently
necessary for building a fraternal society, for building fellowship! Dear brothers
and sisters, I pray in particular that the Lord will grant to this region of the Middle
East servants of peace and reconciliation, so that all people can live in peace and
with dignity. This is an essential testimony which Christians must render here, in
cooperation with all people of good will. I appeal to all of you to be peacemakers,
wherever you find yourselves. Service must also be at the heart of the life of
the Christian community itself. Every ministry, every position of responsibility
in the Church, is first and foremost a service to God and to our brothers and sisters.
This is the spirit which should guide the baptized among themselves, and find particular
expression in an effective commitment to serving the poor, the outcast and the suffering,
so that the inalienable dignity of each person may be safeguarded. Dear brothers
and sisters who are suffering physically or spiritually, your sufferings are not in
vain! Christ the Servant wished to be close to the suffering. He is always close
to you. Along your own path, may you always find brothers and sisters who are concrete
signs of his loving presence which will never forsake you! Remain ever hopeful because
of Christ! And may all of you, my brothers and sisters who have come to take part
in this celebration, strive to be ever more fully conformed to the Lord Jesus, who
became the Servant of all for the life of the world. May God bless Lebanon; may he
bless all the peoples of this beloved region of the Middle East, and may he grant
them the gift of his peace. Amen.