In last week’s Gospel, Peter was commended for his answer to Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?” his answer being “You are the Messiah.” Jesus then declared Peter to be the rock on which he would build his Church.
Now in today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus call Peter an “obstacle.” The original word in Greek, which Jesus used, (unaye) which I won’t try to pronounce, refers to a stumbling stone that causes a person to stumble and fall.
So, Peter went, in just a short time, from being called the foundational rock of the Church to a stumbling stone, a hindrance to Jesus on the road to his Passion in Jerusalem. And the conversation between Jesus and Peter in today’s Gospel is eerily similar to the conversation between Jesus and Satan during his temptations after Jesus’ 40 days in the desert. Peter had taken Jesus aside just as Satan had taken Jesus to a high mountaintop to tempt him. Jesus dismissed both with the same response, using the same Greek word, referring to a stumbling stone.
So, what changed with Peter? (Misunderstood Peter’s faith up and down Risen Christ unity his Pentecost) (??) When Peter proclaimed Jesus to be the Messiah, he was acting under Divine inspiration. Jesus told him that it was his Heavenly Father who had revealed it to him. When Peter took Jesus aside to dissuade him from his Passion, he was acting out of impulse, thinking as humans do and not as God does. Peter was still hoping that Jesus was the “Conquering Messiah” that the Jewish people were looking for, to free them from oppression and then reign in Glory. Peter didn’t want to hear that Jesus was to be killed, and he certainly didn’t want to hear that to be one of Jesus disciples he would very likely have to suffer as well.
Peter still had more trials to go through, most notably, denying Jesus three times at his Passion. Yet Peter is a beacon of hope. Although we see him struggling with his faith in today’s Gospel, after Pentecost, Peter becomes completely transformed. In the Acts of the Apostles, we see Peter being brought before the Sanhedrin twice for preaching about Jesus. He’s imprisoned once, and instead of denying Jesus, he considers it an honor to suffer in the name of Jesus. Peter did become the foundation of the church as the 1st Pope, and as we know he was ultimately crucified in Jesus’ name.
When Jesus told his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me, must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me;” those words were most likely very shocking. It’s a wonder that anyone decided to follow Jesus when he spoke like that.
The cross, whether it was a wooden one, as it was for Jesus, or some other form of Martyrdom, has been real for many of those through the centuries who have chosen to follow Christ. Christians are still martyred in today’s world. Here in the United States, it’s not likely any of us will have to face martyrdom, but that’s the kind of commitment Jesus is looking for from his followers. But just because we don’t have to worry about becoming martyrs, doesn’t mean that we’re not persecuted for our faith. Today’s society has become more and more antagonistic towards Christians, portraying us as narrow-minded even hateful and bigoted. Words can sting, and the derision can make many people reluctant to identify themselves as Christians. What Christians call immoral. Today’s society calls freedom. But we cannot have Jesus and live immoral lives at the same time. St Paul tells us in our 2nd reading, “Do not conform yourselves to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of mind.”
We are all called to carry crosses at some time in our life. Crosses can be caused by someone else; we may bring crosses upon ourselves due to the choices we make; and often the crosses are no one’s fault, but simply accidents of life; the sudden death of a loved one, a severe illness or accident, or a natural disaster, such as an earthquake or a hurricane as we’ve just seen in Southern Texas. Our crosses can take many forms.
Sometimes, we don’t want to face the pain of our crosses, so we pretend everything is fine. That’s called running away from our cross, or denying our cross, but if we deny our cross, we are losing out on the grace we receive from God for bearing our cross for Christ.
Sometimes we become angry with the crosses that we’re confronted with. It’s a natural reaction. We see Jeremiah reacting in this way in our 1st reading as well as Peter in our Gospel. We often ask, “Why,” “Why did God allow this to happen?” It’s easy to blame God when we don’t understand why we’re in pain, or to blame others. When we’re afraid to face the pain of the real cause of the problem, we often feel we just need to blame someone.
Other than the fact that we inherited suffering from the Garden of Eden, no one has come up with an adequate answer to explain the mystery of human suffering. Any cross is painful, but with faith in God’s promises, and with prayer, we can carry any cross. Once we’ve moved beyond the questions and the anger, and accept our crosses with humility, we begin to receive the graces from God that come with those crosses.
St. Paul declared in 2nd Corinthians, “I am filled with comfort. With all our afflictions, I am overjoyed.” St. Francis of Assisi often said, “Every pain for me is a joy.”
From the example of Christ, from the words of these saints, and from the sacrifice of all the martyrs through the ages, we should be convinced that there is salvation in the way we carry our crosses in this life.
In times of struggle, and times of all forms of suffering, it will do our souls good if we pray in the same manner that Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Father, if it is your will, take this cup…this cross from me, yet not my will, but yours be done.” Suffering should simply be a part of our trust in God’s promises. Our crosses do lead us to salvation if we carry them in complete submission to God’s will.