Whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it

From that time Jesus began to show to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord, this shall not happen to you!" But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an offense to me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

"For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each according to his works. Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

- Matthew 16:21-28

In yesterday's reading, Peter has made his great confession of faith - and Jesus has pronounced this confession the "rock" upon which "I will build my church." In yesterday's commentary, we discussed Peter's oft-quoted words as those which in some way speak for the disciples, and for us. Today's reading is no exception; immediately after pronouncing the deep confession of faith, which Jesus says could only have been revealed by the Father, Peter receives a scathing rebuke - perhaps Jesus' most serious - for what he will have to say today.

From that time Jesus began to show to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord, this shall not happen to you!" But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an offense to me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." My study bible notes, "After Peter's confession, Jesus reveals the true nature of his messiahship, the mystery of the Passion. But Peter took him aside (v. 22), expecting him to enter Jerusalem and establish the kingdom immediately (as Peter understood it, an earthly, political kingdom), not to go to the Cross and death. Peter thought the Messiah would reign forever, not die. But Jesus was to be a suffering Messiah, a scandalous idea to the Jews." What we remember here is that, for Peter, it was scandalous that Jesus should suffer. He has just pronounced his confession of faith, that Jesus is Christ (the Anointed One). Immediately after this confession, Jesus begins to teach the apostles about what is to come - hard to accept today, given our expectations, and despite our knowledge. Imagine how these words must have sounded to Peter.

But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an offense to me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." My study bible says, "Christ did not call Peter Satan to insult him, but to rebuke him for unwittingly serving as a mouthpiece of the devil." I must confess, I come up against this same conflict in my own life. What often seems like a "good" idea to me is contraindicated in my prayer life. Paradoxical; when I fail to take note my plans always come up as second rate at best. Temptation can come in all kinds of forms, including those with the best of intention. Faith asks of us something different from just good intentions and good works - it is a relationship.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." My study bible says, "The cross, a dreaded instrument of Roman punishment, is also a symbol of suffering by Christians in imitation of Christ. Self-denial is for the sake of Christ and the gospel, for a better life; it is not a punitive end in itself." There is much profound wisdom here to be listened to. Self-punishment is not the point of self-sacrifice! We exchange what we know for something better, for true self. Modern psychology will teach us that often what we accept as the conclusion of teachings from life around ourselves, from our environment that shapes us, can result in all kinds of coping mechanisms that are not necessarily good for us as we get older and grow into adulthood. To exchange what we think is good for the ideas we find in connection to "Higher Power" (to use the language of self-help and Twelve Step groups) is to exchange "childish things" for those of authentic selfhood, and for the transcendent of all. We recall St. Paul's words from 1 Corinthians 13: "Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." It is love that is transcendent of all, of the best of our intentions and knowledge and accumulated wisdom. The relationship of faith is the relationship to love itself. And that love will teach us to "put away childish things" and the "things we know in part." It is that limited understanding that we sacrifice in exchange for what is deep and authentic, what gives us truly ourselves, "as we are known."

"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. " A note in my study bible says, "Here Jesus states the central paradox of the Christian faith. In grasping the temporal, we lose the eternal; in sacrificing everything we can know, we gain unimaginable riches. In dying, we live." We die to ourselves, to a limited life. We lose what is limited in perspective, what "we see only in part." In our prayer life, in the life of relationship to God, we find ourselves. As did the Prodigal Son, we come to ourselves. This is the point of the cross, of sacrifice - to find this authentic reality, to come to ourselves. Jesus makes this point clearly himself in the next verse: "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" As true now as they ever were, we need to understand these words more than ever -- if we look around at the problems of society, we see that despite all of our gains we still need this reality the most deeply for what ails us!

"For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward each according to his works." My study bible notes: "When the Son of Man comes in glory to reward each according to his works, it will be shown that absolutely nothing exceeds the value of finding true life, the salvation of one's soul." Jesus emphasizes the importance of our choices. It's not just for our own sake that we choose wisely, that we choose to "come to ourselves" in this faith. But it is also for the life of the world - and what he offers us is life in abundance.

"Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." My study bible notes here: "Seeing Jesus coming in his kingdom may refer to the Transfiguration, which occurs immediately after this."

So, in three sequential readings, we have this important transition: from the confession of Peter's faith that Jesus is the Christ, to the immediate contradiction of all that we think is "good" or are "good ideas or intentions" in favor of that which seems so paradoxical - that we give up what we think is "good" for the unexpected, the blessings of the kingdom, the better things that are of God and from this relationship of faith, to tomorrow's reading of the Transfiguration and its implications for us. We cannot escape from the understanding that selfhood/identity is intermixed with Christian faith. This is our model. Christ at once reveals himself and his identity after Peter's confession, and that he will suffer. He is to be a suffering Messiah. And more - we ourselves are called to this cross. To have life in abundance is to exchange our lives, our ideas, for those which are greater, more transcendent, which come from Love Itself. In that exchange, we receive our own "metamorphosis" (to use the Greek word), or Transfiguration. In tomorrow's reading, we will consider this subject more deeply. But first, we ask ourselves what it means in this spiritual context to put away our childish things, and to come to ourselves; the importance of our decisions, the choice for faith. And we remember and ask ourselves again, "To what do we say yes?"