St. Mark carefully composed the 8th chapter. He begins with Jesus chiding the disciples for missing what he is all about. “You have eyes, and yet do not see!” Then there is a gradual cure of a blind man which serves as a metaphor for the gradual coming to faith that is genuine discipleship. Finally there is the direct question: Who do you say that I am? You can imagine Peter’s excitement when he came up with the right answer. “You are the Messiah.” Right, yes, but not complete. Jesus is a suffering Messiah. “He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected and be killed.” The lesson for us — even in our suffering God is blessing us.
