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September 8, 2021“Get thee behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” Can you just imagine how Peter must have felt hearing these words from Christ? After all, Peter thought he just answered Jesus’ question “But who do you say that I am?” by proclaiming “You are the Christ.” Peter had to be perplexed, wondering what could possibly be wrong with not wanting to hear Jesus talking about His suffering and death. What Peter didn’t realize was that Christ was trying to tell him he didn’t get the answer right because even though he acknowledged Jesus as the Savior, he failed to appreciate that as the Son of God, Jesus was sent to reveal the Father to us. Jesus’ mission would not be complete until He revealed the unconditional love of God by giving up His life on the cross. Jesus’ role was different than the Messiah for whom the Jews had long hoped: He was the incarnation of the love of the Father sent to draw all souls back to Him. To know the full extent of the Father’s love, Jesus could hold nothing back. It was, after all, the Father who was withholding nothing back by sending His only Son to suffer and die so as to redeem the world. Without the cross and Resurrection, our knowledge of God’s love would be incomplete. Even though Peter and the other Apostles walked with Jesus, heard His teaching and witnessed His miracles, it had to be hard for them to fathom a love so deep as to be open to suffer unto death for the good of another. Even after nearly 2000 years of validation of Christ’s message, it can be hard to embrace the call to carry the love of God into the world. We know in our hearts what the standard is, but how often, when confronted with choices and especially in times of suffering, do we not think as God does but as human beings do? Our call to holiness is to know Jesus as the incarnation of the love of God for each and every one of us. We are to love as He loved. Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross was the ultimate act of redemption. In our own suffering we must not turn away from God but instead offer up our suffering for the good of another, just as Christ did on the cross.
For further reflection on who Jesus is, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs 422-455.- Who do I say that I am as a follower of Christ? How far am I willing to go in my desire to imitate Christ? What part of the cross am I not willing to carry?
- To know Jesus is to know the Father. How well do I really know who Jesus is and what He teaches? What might I do to know Him more fully?
- What can I do in the days ahead to make sure that my life gives witness to my belief in Christ and all that He taught? In my home? In my workplace? In my community?
