22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,take up his cross, and follow me. (Mt 16:21-27)

... That he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly ... and be killed and on the third day be raised.

New American Bible (NAB) commentary:

• This first prediction of the passion serves as a corrective to an understanding of Jesus' messiahship as solely one of glory and triumph. By his addition of "from that time on" Matthew has emphasized that Jesus' revelation of his coming suffering and death marks a new phase of the gospel. Neither this nor the two later passion predictions can be taken as sayings that, as they stand, go back to Jesus himself. However, it is probable that he foresaw that his mission would entail suffering and perhaps death, but was confident that he would ultimately be vindicated by God.

Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you." He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.."

NAB commentary:

• Peter's refusal to accept Jesus' predicted suffering and death is seen as a satanic attempt to deflect Jesus from his God-appointed course, and the disciple is addressed in terms that recall Jesus' dismissal of the devil in the temptation account ("Get away, Satan!"). Peter's satanic purpose is emphasized by Matthew's addition to the Marcan source of the words "You are an obstacle to me".

My reflection:

Just a while ago Jesus addressed him as the rock on which he will build his church (cf. last Sunday's gospel reading). Now Jesus calls him Satan. How come?

It's the temptation in the wilderness all over again. After his baptism by John at the Jordan, the Spirit led him to the wilderness. And there for 40 days and 40 nights Satan tempted him. What was the temptation?

It was the mission of Jesus to save the world through the way of the cross. That was the Father's will. But Satan wanted Jesus to be savior through another way, through popularity, through power and through incredible deeds. Jesus chose the way laid out by his Father.

That wilderness experience ended with the words: "When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time."

Now the devil returned and through Peter was tempting Jesus to abandon the way of the cross. But Jesus was firm. He was not to be dissuaded from doing the Father's will.

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

An anecdote: Two high school classmates, A and E, had a quarrel. Afterwards, A said: "I'd like to forgive E, but my other classmates may say that it is because I am afraid of him." If E was thinking the way God thinks, perhaps his attitude would have been different.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "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 will find it.

NAB commentary:

• A readiness to follow Jesus even to giving up one's life for him is the condition for true discipleship; this will be repaid by him at the final judgment

• Deny himself: to deny someone is to disown him and to deny oneself is to disown oneself as the center of one's existence.