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Gospel Reading for August 8, 2024 – Matthew 16: 13-23
WE CANNOT AVOID IT
Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
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Isn’t it but natural not to want a person we love, suffer? Peter must have felt the same way. He was just being protective of Jesus, who he had just called, “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Much more so, if the person is our child. We will not allow that to happen by all means! But the truth of the matter is that, like Jesus, we all have to go through suffering, light or heavy, sometimes or often, when we fight evil. The fact that evil has proliferated in the world makes suffering a daily fare for humankind. WE CANNOT AVOID IT. But because of Jesus, suffering brought about by the fight against evil, became HONORABLE and it DIGNIFIED those who bear it. This is why in Matthew 16: 24, Jesus said: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Look at Jesus hanging on the cross. At a glance, it would look undignified even if he were the Son of God, but everytime we look at a crucifix, we see HONOR and DIGNITY because his suffering was a SUPREME SACRIFICE OF LOVE for humankind!
It would do a lot of good for parents to help children understand why there is suffering and that it is unavoidable. Instead of trying to protect them from suffering that is inevitable, it would be good to teach them how to cope with it and how to turn it into a sacrifice in union with Christ’s mission for the salvation of the world.
Lord Jesus, may we never tire of carrying our cross and following you!
