Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Interior of Our Lady of Consolation
Minor Basilica in Carey, Ohio

Lectionary: 131

He spoke this openly.

Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,

rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan.

You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

As I read the gospels I don’t find Jesus to be the warm, cuddly, approachable fellow described in Christian messaging. I find a prophet in the mold of Elijah and Elisha, remote, untouchable, and ferociously holy. People may come to him with a formal request but he doesn’t hang around waiting for someone to speak with him. When he joins a crowd, no one recognizes him and no one speaks to him. He might not come by to watch Sunday afternoon football or share a cold one, much less listen to your pet theory about human evolution.

Among the crowds who come to him, there are seventy-two disciples, but only twelve apostles, and only three are privy to his transfiguration and agony in Gethsemane. Some are turned away; as he tells them, “Let the dead bury the dead.” or “Birds have nests and foxes have holes, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Only the gospel of John describes a single beloved disciple who seemed to enjoy the Lord’s particular affection. 

Peter speaks for the disciples, but he was not Jesus’ lieutenant, much less his advisor. His leadership will come later; but he will never fill the Lord’s place. 

In today’s gospel, Saint Mark tells us that Jesus spoke openly about the coming ordeal in Jerusalem. And then, “Peter took him aside.” That’s very unusual among the stories of Jesus, and very bold. But Peter was thinking as human beings do, and presumed he could privately advise Jesus. Apparently, he believed he knew some things about the world, and people, and public relations which the holy, innocent, and somewhat naive Son of the Holy Mary did not understand.  

The gospel says Peter rebuked the Lord; that’s a very strong word; and we hear it again when Jesus replied with a severe rebuke. The apostle might have known the ways of men but he did not know the ways of God; and the best remedy for that was a sharp reply – “Get behind me, Satan.” Anyone who knows the ways of men is all the more the fool for acting as they do. 

Still responding to Peter’s presumption, Jesus summoned the crowd and spoke to them. We’re about to hear how God thinks.

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

and that of the gospel will save it."

The man speaks, and his teaching is not familiar to men. It’s not another safe, predictable anodyne like "Be kind," “To thine own self be true,” or “Honesty is the best policy.” Nor was it a traditional teaching of the Jewish faith. Although the Jews had suffered much for clinging to their ancient religion, they had no particular expectations of a happy ever after, heaven, or eternal bliss. The most devout among them – like Simeon and Anna, the old couple who greeted the Infant Jesus in Jerusalem – found satisfaction despite their poverty in the love of God. 

Like them, we find a similar satisfaction in the Lord’s promise: …whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it." 

It is not a satisfaction of security, reassurance, or prosperity in this world. They don’t love us because we love God. In most cases,  they ignore us; and in some cases they despise us. But in any case, your love of God is nothing you can take to the bank. It won’t appear in your credentials, nor does it play well on your resume or curriculum vitae. Most people think our organized religion is a non-starter; a hobby at best, a private matter, and should be kept private. 

We live by God’s promise and we teach our children privately about God’s promise. It concerns a future which no one can foresee or predict. Because he promises, we hope; and hope is a grace, gift, virtue, and practice. We don’t know exactly what we’re hoping for. Jesus calls it life, and says we may save our life by denying ourselves, taking up the cross appointed to us, and following him. 

The Gospels insist that Jesus carried his own cross on the way to Calvary, which was not exactly his happy place. And apparently our following with our crosses will lead to the same place. 

But despite his death on Calvary, and despite his terrifying holiness and his promises of an unimaginable life, and despite the wisdom which is alien to human ways of thinking, and his homelessness and poverty, our place is with the Lord, and he is our happy place. This is how God thinks, and this is how we think.