Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
Jer 20.7-9;
Ps 62;
Rom 12.1-2;
Mt 16.21-27
What shall a man give in return for his life?
Today's gospel follows straight on from last week's but is in marked contrast to that earlier passage. Last week, Jesus said to Peter, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah...You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church." Today we hear Christ saying to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan." Why the change? What has happened?
In the first place, Christ had commended Peter for his inspired act of faith, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." This was, of course, absolutely true, but it rapidly became clear that Peter did not fully understand the meaning of his own words. Peter recognised Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah - but he did not really know what this meant. Today, we hear Our Lord explaining the reality of what it was to be the Christ: 'From that time forward, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the leaders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.' This was not what Peter wanted to hear. He did not like to imagine that his Master must suffer and die. He wanted Him to be a great king, effortlessly triumphant, irresistibly powerful.
Are we not sometimes guilty of the same charge? Do we not often want God to conform to our own expectations? In thinking like this, we reverse the correct order of things. We try to make God in our own image. When we do this, we become liable to the same condemnation that Peter received: "Get behind me, Satan! You are not on the side of God, but of men." Strong words, but well deserved, because Peter was imitating the sin of Satan, opposing his will to that of his Creator. This is always the great temptation the Evil One lays before us, to put our own wills first, our own wishes above all else. After rebuking Peter for his folly, the Lord teaches His disciples the true way to happiness, in words which are so familiar that perhaps we miss their full impact: "If any one would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."
Self-denial is not very popular nowadays. So often, magazines and television keep encouraging us to aim only for self-fulfilment. We are told that we have to set our own goals, and work towards getting them, to realise our own potential. Only in this way shall we achieve happiness. Such a way of living might make sense in a world where God did not exist, or if He were only the sum of our own thoughts and feelings. Such a philosophy of life, the wisdom of the age, is not far from Peter's attitude to Jesus, and should provoke the same response from us: "Get behind me, Satan".
In the matter of self-denial, Our Lord does not ask us to do anything that He Himself has not already done. Like us, He had to struggle to submit Himself to the will of the Father. That He did struggle should be a great consolation for us. If we consider what He underwent, even though sinless and deserving no punishment, and when we recall that He did it out of love for us, we shall find the strength we need to plod on with our own little daily cross. The contemplation of His sufferings will make our own seem small by comparison. The eternal reward He offers us is so much greater than anything, which the Enemy can offer us in this vale of tears. Let us look to the example of Our Blessed Lady. At the end of her life on earth, the humble Virgin of Nazareth was exalted to the glory of paradise and became Queen of heaven. If we trust in her prayers to help us share the weight of the Cross, then one day we shall come to where she now is, co-reigning with Christ, in heavenly glory. O Mary assumed into heaven, pray for us. Amen.
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