8-30-26 Twenty-Second Sunday, Ordinary Time, Cycle A

                                                                                

From our Gospel this week we see that Peter and the other apostles must have been equally shocked as Jesus described in vivid detail what was going to happen to him when they reached Jerusalem.  To them, savior’s and healers like Jesus are honored not destroyed.  They could not conceive of world where people like Jesus would be tortured in such a way as he described.    

 Last week, Jesus took his disciples and led them to a place called Caesarea Philipp where he and they could be at peace and not have to contend with the constant barrages of antagonistic remarks from the scribes and Pharisees about what Jesus was saying or doing.  There he asks the disciples who do they say he is?  It is Peter, who was graced by the Holy Spirit of God to recognize who Jesus truly was and to be able to exclaim that Jesus is not only the long-awaited Messiah but also the Son of God.  Reading that gospel can seem that they all were in good place in their relationship and understanding of who Jesus is for them.  But in this weekend’s gospel we see that evil is lurking behind the scenes.  We do not know how long after Peter’s acclamation that the current scene in this Sunday’s gospel happened.  It could’ve been a few minutes later, a later a week, or perhaps even a month later. But when Jesus tells the disciples what he will have to suffer to fulfill God‘s plan for the salvation of the world, they are shocked right out of their sandals, so to speak.  So shocked were they, that Peter (the one who was destined to be the future Pope)1 takes Jesus aside and tries to assure him that that what Jesus says is going to happen, will never happen. Peter assures Jesus they will be faithful to him, and they will protect him from any evil force that seeks to harm him.  What a wonderful way to assure Jesus (i.e., the Son of God) that nothing bad, like what he has just said, will ever happen to Jesus.  Jesus, however, in a very strong language chastises Peter because Peter is thinking in human’s terms and not thinking about how God thinks or plans.  St. Paul in the second reading this weekend, also invites the Romans to think as God thinks and not as the world thinks. “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2)                                                                            Jesus sees in Peter‘s rebuke about what he has just said, the presence of the evil one who was trying to infiltrate the hearts and minds of this little band of followers that Jesus has gathered.   Through Peter’s words, Jesus, hears the Tempter.  Jesus knows that is that same tempter that he heard when he went out into the desert, following his baptism by John, to be alone and prepare for his ministry.  Jesus hears in Peter’s rebuke the tempter’s promise.  “Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.” (Matt 4: 8-9).                                                                                                                                          The Apostles, like us, still have much to learn and more experiences to endure so that they can acquire a greater assurance of God’s presence in their lives.  But ultimately what they (and we) are being invited to, is to be transformed by the Spirit of God, so that they and we can be more attuned to the ways of God rather than to be overcome by solely thinking in the ways of the world. Those ways of the world often see things in a very dualistic like kind of thinking. It is a type of thinking that solely judges people and situations in terms of who is right and who’s wrong, who’s in and who’s out. The ways of the world often make judgments against others simply because they do not take the time to listen or try to understand another’s view, another’s religion, another’s way of life.  Such a dualistic type of thinking has shaped the world for thousands of years.   It can occur in the smallest of areas like a family or a neighborhood and in the largest of thinking, like a country.   It has been the cause of many wars and much destruction.  It has enslaved people by judging them as inferior to others. In the midst of that type of dualistic thinking, the followers of Christ must stand to transform mankind from that kind of thinking to seeing more as God sees and as God plans.                                                                                        Of course, for that transformation to happen there must be a great deal of trust in the power of God to overcome the power of evil.   Jesus trusted in this power and through the course of his life emerged as our savior. That does not mean that he did not know suffering.  He had much suffering and rejection throughout his life, from his birth to his death.   But he trusted in the plan of God for him even when he faced his own death and cried out from the Garden of Gethsemane,  “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done.”.                        The gospel invites us to think about what is God‘s plan for us. The readings this weekend invite us to reflect upon whether we are thinking like God or like the world.  Perhaps we are in very troubled situations in our lives and wonder where is God in this darkness?  In such times, we may find it difficult to hold tight to belief that God has not abandoned us but rather God is here with us in our darkness like he was with Jesus in the garden.   The evil one tempts us to not trust in God‘s plan for us. The evil one may even tell us, God has forgotten us, and we are not His cherished sons and daughters.  But the truth is that Jesus came that we might be saved that we might be strengthened and empowered by the grace of God to live out a life that mirrors our transformation to the ways of God rather than  a life by which we are conforming to the ways of the world.2                                                                                                                                            Perhaps this week through prayer or reflection, we can ask Jesus to open our eyes, minds, and will in order to be transformed to what God wants for us. It is a gradual process, this transformation to God’s ways.   But if we are willing, and if we are trusting that God has a plan for us, and that it will be fulfilled, as it was for Jesus, as it was for Peter, as it has been for countless followers of Jesus down through the ages; then, we too can exclaim with the psalmist in the responsorial psalm this weekend:

    “You are my help and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.                                                         My soul clings fast to you and your right hand upholds me.”

1.           1. The Jesus  we want. The Jesus  we need.  22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time,Voicings.com 2026

2.            2. Food for the Soul, Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, Peter Kreeft, pp720-733, Word on Fire, 2021

Popular posts from this blog

6-29-25 Feast of St. Peter & St. Paul

Image
Our readings today tell us of the two most prominent saints of the Christian faith. But, for these two, like most of us, they did not start out that way.   Both encountered Jesus   in very different ways, but each had to decide, following that encounter, whether to follow Jesus completely or not.   And even when they did decide to follow him, we can see from the scriptures, it does not mean there was a smooth easy road ahead of them.   For both, in their relationship to Jesus and in the development of their own faith in Jesus, there were questions and periods of confusion . Peter initially, encounters Jesus after a night fishing and catching nothing.   Peter has pulled his boat on shore, but Jesus tells him to put out into water and cast his nets again Simon, the fisherman, informs Jesus, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” (Luke 5:5)      Of course, we know what happens tha...
Read more

6-8-25 Feast of Pentecost

Image
                                                                          Our readings on Pentecost bring to an end the Easter season with the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise, about the coming of the Holy Spirit.                                                                                                           When the day of Pentecost came the Spirit came upon the apostles and the disciples gathered in the Upper Room.  They have been told to remain in Jerusalem until the coming of the Spirit.   So much has hap...
Read more

7-27-25 - 17th Sunday Ordinary Time

Image
In ancient times the understanding of reality and the forces that can change the world of mankind varied from one culture to another.  In ancient Greece for example the people tell the story of Pandora.  Pandora is a beautiful woman whom the God’s of Greece hold in high esteem.  One day Zeus, the chief of the Gods, was going on a trip and stopped by Pandora’s house.  He gives her a beautiful box to hold for him and that he will pick up on his return trip.  He instructs her to never to open the box, or else dreadful things will happen.  She puts the box on a mantle and goes about her business. Every day she sees it but tries to pay no attention to it.  But, one day she cannot resist opening the box.  When she does all sorts of evils and temptations, like greed, avarice, cheating, making of wars, robbery and murder fly out of the box and out of her home.  She fights mightily to close the lid of the box and finally succeeds.  Frightene...
Read more