Gospel: Peter Objects

Today marks the Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Gospel to be read is according to St Matthew.

From then onwards Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day.

Then, taking him aside, Peter started to rebuke him. "Heaven preserve you, Lord," he said, "this must not happen to you."

But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because you are not thinking as God thinks but as human beings do."

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. What, then, will anyone gain by winning the whole world and forfeiting his life? Or what can anyone offer in exchange for his life? 

For the Son of man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each one according to his behavior."

In this Gospel reading, Jesus rebuked Peter for not trying to understand the will of God in Christ Jesus, i.e., to lay down his own life for the salvation of mankind. Peter, like every Jew, believes that the Messiah will be sent by God to liberate Israel from the Roman empire, just like what Moses did in Egypt. He never understood yet what the role of the Christ really means.

Jesus came into this world not to conquer kingdoms or liberate the chosen few. The love of God transcends everything, for everyone became the children of God through Jesus' passion on the cross. Peter's objection to this only points to death and suffering, but he failed to truly understand the divine plan; that on the third day, Jesus will be raised from the dead. He failed to recognize the promises of Easter.

Sometimes, Satan will trick us into believing falsehoods about our faith, for us to fail to follow the will of God. He will let us focus on the material things, the honor to be gleamed from the world, that blinds us into the Christian necessity of offering ourselves for others. Nothing will ever be gained from obtaining material possessions, if we will lose our souls in the process.

A true follower of Jesus is like this: he takes up his cross, not for himself or for his own glory, but for the service to others. He offers a prayer, not just for himself, but for peace in the world.

Let us pray: Lord, your ways are truly wondrous and magnificent. Help us to look beyond what the world wants us to see, but, instead, allow us to fulfill the mission God wills for us to do, and never be distracted from it. 

Amen.

x----x

The Gospel reflection is presented by Reebok.