22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – August 30, 2020 – Matthew 16: 21-27
We have had some interesting weather around here in the past few weeks, including some lightning. When lightning flashes, it’s here one minute and gone the next, until the next flash comes. But when that next flash of lightning will come is unpredictable: I could blink and miss one; OR I could fall asleep and miss a lot of them!
Some people say that’s what inspiration is like: a flash of an image, for example, of how a new garden can be arranged; or of how a person’s toolshed can be RE-organized. Or inspiration comes when someone discovers the exact right word for a poem or a song, the word that expresses what we all know to be true. Now, having travelled with St. Matthew’s Gospel this year, we know that Peter WAS inspired, in fact, just last week! Out of all the names and identifications people were using for Jesus in His preaching ministry, Peter correctly calls Jesus “The Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Remarkable. And inspired. Only God Almighty could have helped Peter to come to that realization and awakening, just as only the Blessed Trinity could have helped Peter, James and John to begin to understand the Transfiguration event they witnessed on the mountain.
Ah, but when we get to today’s Gospel, Peter’s period of being inspired has long set sail. Jesus, the EPITOME of truth, provides the Apostles with the full recipe of being a Messiah: this recipe is one in which service-based discipleship + sacrificial self-denial = salvation. Jesus’ recipe is from God our Creator: Jesus is committed to fulfilling this recipe to the letter.
On the other hand, Peter is following a DIFFERENT recipe, a human one, a CONVENTIONAL one: Peter, who distinguished himself from the other Apostles and the world last week in identifying Jesus, has now slipped back into the recipe that Jewish people had carried in their heads for generations. Essentially, conventional Judaism was waiting for a military Messiah to slaughter Jewish enemies, to re-establish Jewish power and authority, and free Jews from constant enslavement. And then, when all these things had taken place, great celebrations would replace sadness and sorrow. This recipe comes down to this: The arrival of the Messiah to lead us into battle versus enemies, plus the restoration of power, privilege, riches and wealth, would equal a life of ease and contentment.
I have joked more than once about Peter’s underhanded solution to Jesus’ suffering and death: it is as if Peter says to Jesus, “Hey. Don’t worry, Jesus. I know a guy: he’s good, he’s reliable: when the time comes and it’s too dangerous to live here, this guy I know can sneak us out. You won’t have to even think about going to Jerusalem and suffer.” Peter might have added, if he was being completely truthful: “and that’ll be a good thing, Jesus, because if YOU don’t have to go and suffer, then we won’t have to go and suffer either, and that will be fine.” OMG. Jesus’ blood pressure might have gone up just a tad, for his VOICE VOLUME comes through today in our hearing: it seems to me that no one calls another person a SATAN or a STUMBLING BLOCK, that is, a SCANDAL, without their blood pressure going up.
As for us, taking up one’s cross and following Jesus is going to be different for each of us and all of us. But the call is there, even on days we awaken, and discover we’re only at 80% of our best, or we didn’t sleep well the night before, and are prone to be ornery throughout the next day. But one way for us to apply this Gospel teaching today is to think about Jesus’ command at the words of Institution of the Eucharist: when Jesus says, “do THIS in memory of me,” what’s this? It’s today’s Christ-Gospel vision: we are called not only to feed the poor, but to BE the bread that gets broken and feeds others as His Body; and not only getting others something to drink, but to BE the sacrifice of all those crushed grapes, that are transformed into wine, and ultimately His blood shed for all. As we continue to pray during this Eucharist, and discern to what further discipleship Jesus the Christ may call us, we recognize our individual and communal need to be strengthened. The unique strength Jesus provides us in the Eucharist is a sign of hope and courage for us and for all people. Let us continue to witness, to one another and to the world, WHICH RECIPE we are truly following: the Peter recipe of entitlement, or the Christ recipe of salvation. Let us choose wisely.
