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

 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 coming."

- Matthew 16:21-28

Yesterday we read that when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

 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."  For the first time, and directly after Peter's confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ (spoken for all of the disciples), Jesus reveals the true nature of His messiahship.  He introduces them to the mystery of His Passion.  My study bible informs us that it was expected that the Messiah would reign forever, so the idea that Christ would die was impossibly perplexing to Peter and remained scandalous to the Jews even after the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 1:23).  Peter, in effect, has unwittingly spoken for Satan, as the devil did not want Jesus to fulfill His mission and save humankind through suffering and death.

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."  The cross was a fearsome instrument of Roman punishment, designed to create the worst kind of suffering until death.  But it is also a symbol -- transfigured by Christ -- of suffering by Christians in imitation of Him.  My study bible says that we practice self-denial for the sake of the love of God and the gospel.  To accept this suffering, it says, is not a punishment.  Neither is it an end in itself.  Rather it is a means whereby a fallen world is overcome for the sake of the kingdom of God, and to crucify passions and desires which would separate us from God in the light of faith (Galatians 5:24).

"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."  This central Christian message is the paradox of how to live.  My study bible comments that in grasping for temporal things, we lose the eternal.  But in sacrificing everything in this world in faith to God, and God's purposes for us, we gain eternal riches which are unimaginable (1 Corinthians 2:9).  This can be experienced on the deepest personal level of identity and meaning.

"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?"  My study bible says that this question emphasizes the utter foolishness of accumulating worldly wealth or power -- as none of this can redeem a person's "fallen" soul or benefit a person in the life to come.

"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."  In introducing the cross and His suffering, Jesus also reminds us of judgment and of justice -- the full impact of how we choose to live, and what it is we choose to live for.

"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 coming."   My study bible suggests this is a reference to those who would witness the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9, coming up in our next reading), as well as those in every generation who will experience the presence of God's Kingdom.

So what would you give for God's kingdom to dwell within you?  How does that match the goals that you have in your life?  Does it fit with what the world offers you as "good" or beneficial to you?  Let us consider the meaning of Jesus' cross in a profound way, as He offers to us His way of life, with its "crucifixion" of our desires and worldly outlook based solely on what is material in our lives.  Once again, I would turn to the maelstrom of currant affairs and politics which seems to dominate our lives and our media screens.  Where I live, protest is ongoing each day, with helicopters overhead for two weeks and more.  The noise itself feels invasive at this point, as there is no chance for me to be uninvolved somehow, no silence when I feel I need it.  The answer for me is in the Cross.  How should I participate?  Should I participate?  Is there an alternative or option which Christ would have me choose?  The one way I should find that out is through the Cross, through the crucifixion of flesh and its desires and passions, as my study bible, citing St. Paul, reminds us.  If I cannot retreat enough into the power of prayer to give all of the fuss and the confusing selection and variety of opinions to Christ and the saints, then where is my faith in all of this?  Fortunately, it is the power of prayer and faith in which all things exist and are transformed.  The excitement and agitation of the past few weeks -- and the damage done in my particular neighborhood -- has been stressful and impactful, especially coming on top of a long lockdown for the covid virus in my area, which is ongoing.  Not only that, but the mass protests themselves have raised the specter -- according to the doctors whose opinions are considered to be authoritative -- that the virus statistics will rise once again, and so enforced lockdown will continue.  One of my neighbors with a young baby has already had serious struggles with the tensions of it all, adding tension to where I live.   In the resulting extra stressors, I am compelled to retreat to prayer to address my own responses to those whom I love and whose friendships and acquaintances I cherish, even to those with whom I must engage each day on an impersonal basis.  I have found myself being uncharacteristically angry at some, losing my patience in other circumstances, offended at what I find to be unthinking behavior.  But the one place I can retreat to be "crucified" and have my mind and heart and outlook set right has been through prayer.  I have found it a remarkably potent and powerful antidote to the stress, even changing my mind, soothing my passions and correcting my desires.  In short, Christ's promise that the Cross transforms us and our lives is real and ongoing.  It is -- especially in these circumstances -- an essential part of life.  To be crucified by such a loving Master is to find out who we are, to be corrected when we need it, and especially to be eased by the One who is gentle and lowly of heart, whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light (11:28-30).  It is in this power of the Cross that I have found my way to the person that I need to be, the call to how I can go forward, and especially the light I need to see more clearly -- and that is my testimony.  Won't you meet Christ there as well?  His words are true and good, and it is the work of the "adversary" to suppose they are not meant for good for everyone.