Twenty
Second Sunday in OT A 2020
In the next
very important step of discipleship, Jesus confides to his disciples what it
means to be the Messiah.
Jesus’
explanation of discipleship did not compute with Peter. He was clearly looking for a “no-pain”
version of Christianity. Peter strongly
objected to Jesus’ prediction of his passion.
Jesus contradicts Peter’s no-pain version of Christianity not only with
“Get behind me, Satan!” but also with the oft-quoted statement “Those who wish
to come after me must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow
me.” For Peter in his discipleship, it
is not enough to talk the talk in declaring Jesus to be the Son of God. He must also walk the walk in following Jesus
to his passion and death.
The cross
was central to who Jesus is as our Messiah and Lord. This is what Peter must learn. And likewise, this is what we too must learn
in our path of discipleship.
How are we
like Peter and prefer a ‘no-pain’ version of Christianity? What happens when you or a member of your
family is given the test results that indicate cancer? What happens when life doesn’t seem to be
fair? Why me? I didn’t deserve this. Why did God allow this to happen to me?
All of us,
have we not, asked the question “why” when the results have not been what we
wanted. Why do bad things happen to
good people?
None of us
get a free pass from the cross in life.
Today’s
First Reading catches the prophet Jeremiah in a moment of weakness. His intimate lament contains some of the
strongest language of doubt found in the Bible.
“You duped me O Lord, and I let myself be duped…All the day I am the
object of laughter; everyone mocks me.”
Preaching God’s Word has brought him only derision and reproach.
Jeremiah
felt that God was not standing by him.
There was a side to Jeremiah that was not willing to deal with the cost
of discipleship. This is similar to
Peter’s objection to Jesus’ prediction of his passion
God does not
deceive – and Jeremiah at his core knows this.
God tests the just and disciplines His children through sufferings and
trials.
What
Jeremiah learns, Jesus states explicitly in today’s Gospel. To follow Him is to take up a cross, deny
yourself – your priorities, preferences, and comforts.
In our time of
suffering, may we discover the inner strength that comes from God who is within
us to trust that God’s love for us is unending.
Yes, in your life and in mine, stuff happens that we don’t like –
dealing with Covid-19 and the social distancing restrictions that is demanded
of us. Who of us planned that our lives
would be turned upside down since last March?
Who of us planned the sudden departure of a priest that we
loved so very much – Fr Jeff Chichester.
We certain wish him all of God’s blessings in all that he says and
does. What is the toll on us with the
loss of a very good priest who has touched our lives? What are we to do?
How does this affect our spiritual journey? This is the question of Jeremiah, the apostle
Paul, and Peter in the Gospel. This is
the question of a mom and a dad in dealing with their child’s serious illness. This is the question we face when a family
member dies much too young. This happens
when our chosen career path doesn’t work out.
We experience suffering personally, and we experience the
suffering that happens to us globally as well.
Half a world away, women are kidnapped and sold as sex slaves by shadowy
militias. So much of the world is living
in poverty. Uncomfortably closer to us,
there are flares of racial conflict in the streets of our cities. Black Lives Matter.
Peter echoes our sentiments when he says: “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”
God forbid that the Church has to deal with people with
people that don’t have time to come to Sunday Eucharist. God forbid that clergy in the exercise of
religious leadership are not kind and compassionate. God forbid that any
members of your family do not believe in the same way you do. God forbid that I wrestle with greed, excess,
control of people, and sexual self-interest.
Yes, the Church still is suffering. Jesus wants us to judge as God and not as
humans do. God desires a Church that is
forgiving. God desires a Church rich in
mercy and compassion. The prayerful
Gospel question is: what is the cost of
discipleship for me to be a follower of Christ?
As did Peter we have to learn that the cross was central to our
discipleship of the Lord Jesus. Our
spiritual path is to be a disciple of the crucified Lord. In walking the walk of discipleship, we must
be willing to embrace the cost of discipleship.
In your spiritual journey, how do you talk to the Lord in
facing illness, death, relationships that have fallen apart, in dealing with
depression and loneliness? Do you
experience frustration, anger, and abandonment from a God who is supposed to be
taking care of you?
Can you experience a God who accompanies you in moments of
darkness as well as moments of light? Can you experience a God whose love for
you is unending even amidst the trials of life?
This was the question Jeremiah, Paul, and Peter experienced in today’s
Scripture readings. Paul prays that we
will be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is
the will of God.
True discipleship happens only after we hear and accept this
challenge: “Whoever wishes to come after
me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose
it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
God is good…all the time.
Have a Blessed Day.
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