Poor Simon Peter. He had just confessed that Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of the living God” and now in this week’s gospel reading Jesus calls him Satan. In other words, Peter was correct about Jesus being the Messiah but he held out for a different kind, namely a political savior who would vanquish the foe. Jesus had just told his disciples that he must suffer and die and on the third day be raised. Peter couldn’t handle that type of Messiah. Thus Jesus saw Peter as an obstacle. “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” The one temptation that dogged Jesus during his ministry was to be someone other than who he was. And if we are honest is that not the same temptation we face? We are defined in so many ways – not that some descriptions don’t fit. But Jesus reminds us that suffering is part of life and in dying to ourselves we will find true life. Each of us is a beloved child of God. May we never forget that.
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