A Reading from the Holy Gospel According to Mark (Mk 8: 27 – 33)
Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.”
And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said to him in reply, “You are the Christ.” Then, he warned them not to tell anyone about him.
He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
The Gospel of the Lord
Reflection:
This is not the first time that Jesus uses hyperbole not just to get our attention, but to make a message clear. And there is no clearer message than to make sure that we are serving God and not Satan. To serve God it requires that we listen to his word, to trust in his plan for us and living out our lives in accord to that plan.
We hear Jesus using hyperbole in the Sermon of the Mount: You do not need to kill to be judged, it is enough to be angry at another person; no need to commit adultery, just thinking about it is a sin; not just love those who love you, love your enemies and pray for your persecutors! In another passage Jesus says “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” Jesus uses this form of speech to make sure we are aware that there is no gray area when it comes to God’s plan.
Moreover, it is Jesus himself the one who is saying these things. Jesus, who is the word of God; the Logos! The Word of God incarnate! Whatever Jesus says is God who is saying it! Therefore, if we are God’s creation, if we claim to be His subjects then, it is only proper for all of us to abide by God’s plan exactly as He describes it; there is no gray area in God’s plan. It is necessary to repeat Jesus’ statement: Whoever is not with me, is against me”.
In this passage, Peter, by even suggesting that God’s plan ran contrary to people’s idea of how the Messiah should save Israel, by even suggesting that God’s plan should not take place, he immediately placed himself against God (and, by consequence, aligned with Satan).
We do the same every time we act as if we know better than God! We become an instrument of Satan when we do, say or even think anything that is contrary to God’s plan for us. When we listen to others, or even entertain for a second the notion that anyone is less deserving of our love and care; when we even for a second entertained prejudices or biases; when we help build walls that separate us from those in need even in the recesses of our mind and heart; when we condone or even ignore hateful acts, retribution, lies and abuses; when others speak of division and point others as scapegoats for our ills; when we even spare a moment of our attention to these messages, then we are doing the work of Satan!
If we agree with St. Peter and we declare that Jesus is the Christ, then we must obey him and do what he asks of us. And what. He asks of us is to do God’s will. Let us follow his commandments which are these two:
To love God with all of our heart, all of our soul and all of our mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Action for the Day:
Reflect on our actions lately: on what we have said, done or even thought. Have we supported others in their biases, prejudices? What is our opinion about mass deportations in light of God’s commandments? Where do we stand in the issue of cutting back government assistance to the needy? If any of these topics lead us to even suspect that Jesus say to us “get behind me Satan”, it is a clear indication that we must convert. We must make sure our actions are aligned with our Christian values.
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