Posted on September 13, 2024 View all Gospel Reflection
Peter said “You are the Messiah.” … then shortly afterwards Jesus said to him “Get behind me Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
Poor St. Peter. Here he was trying his best to show his faith in Christ as the Messiah. But when Jesus
began to explain that he would suffer greatly, be killed and rise after three days, St. Peter tried to calm
him down (or at least get him to not be so negative). After all St. Peter’s view of the Messiah was that he
was going to come and restore the throne of David and bring the glory of the people of Israel back to its
fullness and completion. The Messiah was the very reason why God has set apart the Jewish people. He
must have been wondering why Jesus was speaking of death and persecution when the Messiah was to
bring glory and restore the authority of God on earth.
Today’s reading come just the day after we celebrated the Exaltation of the Cross (Sept. 14). It seems
odd to celebrate the Cross since it was an instrument of death. But through the death of Jesus Christ and
his resurrection, we now see that this instrument of death has been transformed into the symbol and
instrument for our eternal life. The Cross became the means by which Jesus died for our sins and
opened for us the gates of heaven that had been closed by original sin.
And so Jesus’ rebuke of St. Peter aims straight at the heart of the problem. Peter was “thinking not as
God does, but as human beings do.” (Mk. 8:33) The psalmist writes “walk before the Lord, in the land of
the living.” And the Letter of James also puts forth for our reflection: “What good is it, my brothers and
sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?” Rather he says “I will demonstrate my
faith to you from my works.” (Jas. 2:18)
When we look at difficulties and challenges that we encounter in our daily lives, do we see these
through the lens of Christ? Or do we see them as human beings do?
