Sharing the Word – Sunday 3rd September

Readings: 1st Reading; Jeremiah 20 : 7 – 9
                    Responsorial Psalm; Ps. 62 : 2 – 6, 8 – 9.

                    2nd Reading; Romans 12 : 1 – 2.

                   Gospel; Matthew 16 : 21 – 27.

Our First reading today shows a disgruntled Prophet Jeremiah. Disgruntled because his prophecy has provoked the Palace provost to land him in gaol. He regrets because he thinks he has uttered things he should not have, had he desired to be free from human hands. At moments of anger, we do such things. We feel and react like Jeremiah. We say something true, yet hurtful and then listen to what we just said and wished we hadn’t. Listen to an enraged wife, sometimes even friends or in-laws. They say just what they should not have said in the first place. Sometimes, such moments bring out the truth we have had buried in our hearts about the other person. However, unlike us, Jeremiah’s is God’s will and must be spoken because it is the truth and also unlike him, our utterances are most of the times,  sheer ways of getting even. At such times, we forget the commitments we may have made. Speaking the truth like Jeremiah, sometimes brings us only insults.

In today’s Gospel, Peter forgets that his profession of Jesus as the son of God which we heard last Sunday is a commitment. He reacts when Jesus starts revealing the radical dimensions of His messiah-ship. The same Peter who was just a few days ago, affirmed the rock, becomes a block. As he remonstrates Jesus, Jesus reprimands him. Jesus lets him know that there is more than his human ways here.  Jesus explains that true discipleship requires losing and surrendering human expectations in order to gain ultimate eternity. There is a way of losing by gaining. You can win an argument but lose a friend. You will advance in ego, but in terms of relationships, you  are impoverished. You succeed but fail to grow emotionally in developing a capacity for relationships. In a drive to attain power, you will be sacrificing friendship and loyalty, so much so that you end up alone.

Jesus tells us through His reaction to Peter, that true relationship gains power when we keep relationship in its rightful place. When Peter stands in  front of Jesus to block His way to the cross, Jesus sees in his actions and words the same spirit of the tempter in the desert just after His baptism. So, He calls Peter, satan – meaning tempter. But He tells Peter to get behind and follow Him as is proper of a true disciple, rather than blocking His way.

Jesus says for any one to follow Him, he should be prepared to take up his cross and follow. Such a demand gives us three messages: First, that the cross will always be part of our life. Try as you may, the shadow of the cross can not completely be taken away from a human life. Second, that when it comes to the cross, each one of us has a free choice – to pick it up and go along with it or to refuse it. Third, Jesus promises that if we take up our crosses and follow Him, He will grant us eternal life. This is the goodness of our crosses as Christians.

Jesus reprimands Peter whom he has just described as the rock on which He, Jesus will build His Church. Like Peter, you may have made solemn professions, yet you remonstrate the same soon afterward. I have sometime ago personally had a tough year deciding to go through the dissolution of a covenantal union. From the experience, I know it is not easy to swap decisions. The truth is that no one likes pain, frustrations of expectations and disappointments. Once you find yourself in such, you are humanly obliged to react. What we do not usually realise is that deals of commitment are states of confusion. They demand ‘dyings’ and ultimate ‘risings’ but because we are unable to read the minds of other people, our human nature takes control of the better part of us when we find ourselves in such.  Whether we are in married life state or in religious life state, the challenge of faith in our professions is the same. The challenge is between  what we can gain, grasp, or protect. It is about letting go of that and trusting in the unknown, ungrasped and unprotected.

This is why Jesus today poses the probing questions to challenge our assumptions about what is most profitable and worthwhile. All our decisions in life make of us a  certain kind of person. This kind of person we are, determines to a large extent  the kind of future we will face and live. We are told that possessions do not buy Heaven nor mend broken hearts or cheer up a lonely person. Like in our human relationships, we are asked to take commitment from our hearts and not as lip service. Should it be commitment of a covenant, friendship or service. Jesus demands that, we as Christians, should take up our crosses and follow Him. But when your will crosses His will, yours should be given up and His should be done.

A Little Prayer.

Lord Jesus, thank You for your humbling words, ‘What good will it do you to gain the whole world if you lose your soul?’ Lord Jesus, all I have is from you. I restore them to you. Do with them what you will and give me your love and grace to follow where you will.. Amen.

Have a Blessed Week.