Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year A. Jer. 20:7-9; Ps.63:2-6,8-9; Rom.12:1-2; Matt.16:21-27
There are a lot of things to talk about today. But let’s focus on what appears to be the major one; Jesus’s gentle rebuke of Peter. Don’t forget that Peter had just confessed that Jesus is the Messiah, but then he goes ahead to ‘take hold’ of Jesus soon after, and would not let him go on to suffer under the elders, the Chief priests and the Scribes. Peter loved Jesus too much to will him such an “unfortunate” future. He wanted Jesus to be the Messiah, in so far as there was no suffering involved.
When we pay attention to the Greek text, we discover that Jesus’s response to Peter is hardly an angry condemnation. Jesus is rather pained to the heart because he knows that Peter means well, though he misunderstands what his mission entails at this point. It’s even more painful because Jesus is constantly tempted to avoid suffering and take the way of power. This time, Satan speaks under the disguise of love. So Jesus does not simply say “Hupage Satana” (Begone Satan), he adds, “opiso mou.” Jesus’s decision to add “behind me” suggests that he does not want Peter taking the lead. Peter was supposed to get behind and FOLLOW, especially since he has no idea what being the Messiah meant.
Friends, like Peter, we may not want to hear about suffering. But following Christ means we will get insulted; it means we will constantly step on toes as we speak the truth, or try to correct a wrong and ensure justice for the oppressed. This is suffering enough. But God’s love continues to burn in us so much that we cannot say NO to it. This is what Jeremiah complains about in the first reading. As St Paul instructs the Romans in the second reading, we must realise that knowing what is right and perfect would necessarily lead us to a remodeling of our minds, not after the world, but after Christ himself. This is why we must “get behind Jesus” whenever we stray let him take the lead.
Happy Sunday!
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