As God Does
To All,
Last week, I mentioned that we would see in our Gospel reading this week that Peter still had a lot to understand about the kingdom of heaven. In our Gospel reading for this Sunday (Matthew 16:21-27), after Peter has confessed that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” and Jesus acknowledges that He will build His church “upon this rock,” Jesus then explains to the disciples what will happen: “that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scrobes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.”
Matthew then tells us that Peter, obviously startled by such words, takes Jesus aside and says, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing will ever happen to you.” And Jesus, who had recognized that Peter’s previous confession had to have come as a revelation from God, now sees where this is coming from: “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
Peter, as did many of the other disciples and many of the people, saw Jesus in terms of being a king in the worldly sense, as we see when Jesus does enter Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-11). But that is thinking as human beings do. And that is why the devil tempted Jesus this way in the desert (Matthew 4:8-11).
God’s ways are not our ways! Thanks be to God! And so, Jesus says, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?” For me, Jesus is talking about the temptation to sell our soul, be false to who we are and who we are called to be, in order to gain material wealth or dominance over others.
As St. Paul writes in our second reading, “Do not conform yourselves to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” The “renewal” of our minds occurs when we realize again how much God loves us in Jesus Christ. When we are conformed to God’s love and mercy toward us, we can discern how God calls us to treat each other and care for the world. As tempting as it might be, God neither calls us to hate nor to fear. God doesn’t call us to greed or selfishness.
We need not give in to despair or apathy. Instead, we are called to deny ourselves, take up the crosses that come when we choose to love, and follow Jesus in forgiveness and mercy. To run from the cross is to run from loving others.
May we open our hearts and our minds, and let God’s grace renew us in love and hope.
I welcome any comments or questions. Thanks for your time.
In Christ,
Phil, CP
