“GET BEHIND ME, satan! YOU ARE AN OBSTACLE TO ME…” In the Gospel from the 21st Week of Ordinary time, Jesus says to Peter, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.” In today’s Gospel, just one week later, Jesus says to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me…” Peter goes from being praised and called the Rock in which the Church will be built, to being scolded and even called Satan. What are some examples in life in which we have been praised one moment and corrected the next? We love being praised, but do not like to be corrected. Jesus is not being mean; he is actually preparing Saint Peter to be the Rock on which the Church will be built. Peter is called “an obstacle” but through the tough love of Jesus, he will not remain “an obstacle” but instead will lead the Church and bring countless souls to Jesus. The harsh words help Peter go deeper into the school of Jesus that calls us constantly to conversion. In this school of Jesus, the words of Jesus are “living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.” It is no wonder that after these cutting words, “Get behind me Satan,” Jesus says, “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” The word of Jesus discerns reflections and thoughts of the heart, and so Jesus is able to expose to Saint Peter the reflections and thoughts that lie within the heart of Peter. If Jesus did not speak these words it is likely that Peter would not have realized what the reflections and thoughts of his heart were and how they were actually an obstacle to God’s will. It would at first seem that Peter is being punished not favored, but the fact is that Jesus corrects those He favors. “I am accustomed to visit my elect in a double fashion, that is, with temptation and with consolation. And I read to them two lessons each day: one to rebuke them for their faults; the other to exhort them to increase their virtue.” In the Gospel readings from the 21st Week and 22nd Week of ordinary time we see that Peter is given two lessons by Jesus, he is rebuked for his fault, “Get behind me Satan,” and exhorted to increase in virtue in the words, “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.” How does Jesus exhort, encourage and challenge us? How does Jesus rebuke us? When is a time in which the word of God, maybe through another person has cut to our heart revealing both reflections and thoughts that we did not know we had? How does each person of the Trinity correct us? Why does God correct us? The Blessed Trinity is one God in three persons. We see in this conversation between Saint Peter and Jesus, the second person of the Trinity that correction is not only needed by a characteristic of God. In the book of Revelation Jesus says, “Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise. Be earnest, therefore and repent.” We see throughout the Old Testament that Father, the first person of the Trinity is constantly correcting and calling out the Israelites. He does this mostly through the prophets. Jesus is the final and greatest prophet, so of course he is going to correct the children of God. God is offended by our unfaithfulness. Although we are unfaithful, He remains faithful and instead of holding a grudge, He corrects us, calls us back and shows mercy if we are repentant. “I had thought: How I should like to treat you as sons, and give you a pleasant land, a heritage most beautiful among the nations! You would call me, ‘My Father,’ I thought, and never cease following me. But like a woman faithless to her lover, even so have you been faithless to me, O house of Israel, says the Lord. A cry is heard on the heights! The plaintive weeping of Israel’s children, because they have perverted their ways and forgotten the Lord, their God. Return, rebellious children, and I will cure you of your rebelling.” The third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, is sent in order to “convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation: sin, because they do not believe in me; righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.” How does the Holy Spirit work through our Baptism to convict us of sin, righteousness and condemnation? We must believe that sin, righteousness and condemnation are real. We are sinners, but have been redeemed and called to holiness, this is our vocation. In the Sacrament of Baptism both sin and righteousness are a reality. Sin is washed away and the call of holiness is given. Also at our Baptism we renounce Satan, who is the ruler of the world who has been condemned. Our renunciation of sin and our profession of Faith is a renunciation of condemnation and a profession of the redemption and salvation of Jesus Christ. What should be our response to correction? Our first response should be the way that Jesus asks us to respond to correction. We should be earnest, be real and repent. If we are corrected, we should own up to our fault and then change. We can only change with the Grace of God. We also cannot get mad or get an attitude when God or those God will use correct us. “My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges.” “We must accept correction, beloved, and not one should resent it. The exhortations by which we admonish one another are both good and highly profitable, for they bind us to the will of God.” If we do not take correction, we become an obstacle to God. How was Peter an obstacle to God? How would he been even more of an obstacle to the will of God, to the apostles and to the Church if he would have refused correction? How can we be obstacles to the will of God? Why should we not be afraid to correct others? When we correct others we are showing them the greatest act of charity, to not correct them would be unloving. “Reprimand and rebuke should be accepted as healing remedies for vice and conductive to good health. From this it is clear that those who pretend to be tolerant because they wish to flatter – those who thus fail to correct sinners – actually cause them to suffer supreme loss and plot the destruction of that life which is their true life.” When we see someone sinning and not say something, we can be condoning it through our non-action against it. The person can think, “Well if he/she isn’t saying anything, then it must be okay.” One of the spiritual works of mercy is admonish the sinner. We are called in the beatitudes to be merciful and thus mercy will be shown to us. We recognize that although we are admonishing the sinner, we too our also a sinner and thus admonish with truth and charity. Why is it difficult to correct others? Mainly for the reason that Saint Basil says above. We wish to flatter people. We don’t want to be considered mean or intolerant. We are afraid of the persecution that might take place if we correct others. We also might not be convicted of the truth and so we don’t want to stand up for the truth. How do we correct someone? We must be first and foremost charitable at all times. We must be clear and honest with the person, and realize they may not like what they are hearing at that very moment but they will respect you for it. Won’t they think I’m judging them? Someone may think this, but remind them we are not judging them, but correcting them. It is better to correct and change now, than to be judged later on by the supreme judge, Jesus Christ. GOSPEL - Luke 9:51-56 When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?" Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Oct 2013 00:55:10 +0000
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