<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thedialog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Scripture.art_.Kandra.jpg\" "\\"Scripture.art.Kandra\\"\/")
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nScripture readings<\/a> for Aug. 30, 2026, Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time<\/p>\n Jer 20:7-9\u00a0 Ps 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9\u00a0 Rom 12:1-2\u00a0 Mt 16:21-27<\/p>\n Honestly, you can\u2019t help but think: This was not on Peter\u2019s bingo card.<\/p>\n There he was, the appointed leader of the apostles, trying to show his devotion and loyalty to Jesus, his willingness to defend him and protect him. And what did he get in return?<\/p>\n Jesus turned around and called him \u201cSatan.\u201d<\/p>\n What? That had to hurt.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s a valuable lesson here, for Peter and for us. And it\u2019s not exactly subtle. It tells us that to follow Christ means carrying a cross. But the cross isn\u2019t necessarily made of wood. It\u2019s often made of humility, self-sacrifice and obedience. It is constructed from material that can be heavier than we expect, crafted from the willingness to love, a desire to follow God\u2019s will, a choice to set aside our own very human interests and desires.<\/p>\n Peter found that out the hard way. What does this say to us today? First, let\u2019s flip back to last week, and how we got to this point.<\/p>\n This reading continues part of Matthew\u2019s Gospel that we heard last Sunday, in which Peter fearlessly and passionately tells Jesus, \u201cYou are the Christ, the Son of the living God.\u201d And now, this? From \u201crock\u201d to \u201cSatan\u201d? What happened?<\/p>\n After revealing himself to be exactly who Peter said he was, Jesus went on to explain what was to come \u2014 persecution, suffering, death and resurrection. That was a shock Peter couldn\u2019t bear.<\/p>\n But Christ\u2019s rebuke carried a lesson, and it\u2019s one that we all need to hear at one time or another: Don\u2019t settle for the obvious. Don\u2019t just see things for what they are. Stop thinking like human beings. Think more like God.<\/p>\n And, to begin with, see the example of Christ. Deny yourself. Look at the bigger picture. Consider God\u2019s will, not your own. Be prepared to carry a heavy cross \u2014 even perhaps paying a price you hadn\u2019t calculated. The ambitions of this world are worth less than we may think. \u201cWhat profit would there be for one to gain the whole world,\u201d Jesus asked \u201cand forfeit his life?\u201d In fact, Jesus\u2019 words to Peter \u2014 \u201cGet behind me\u201d \u2014 could be read as another way of saying \u201cFollow me.\u201d Watch what I do. Live as I live. Take this path, not any other.<\/p>\n Confronted with this scene, we all might wonder where we fit into the story. Are we living for ourselves or for God? Are we seeing the world through our own eyes, or are we challenging ourselves to see through his?<\/p>\n Are we \u201cstumbling blocks\u201d to the work of the Lord? How can we get out of his way? \u201cLord, take me where you want me to go, Living with that spirit of surrender isn\u2019t easy. (Peter would be the first to tell us that!) It can take us to unexpected places. Mychal Judge\u2019s story reminds us just how hard the journey can be and how heavy the cross can weigh.<\/p>\n But the consoling words from Paul\u2019s letter to the Romans this Sunday offer guidance and hope the ultimate moral for all followers of Christ.<\/p>\n \u201cDo not conform yourselves to this age,\u201d he wrote, \u201cbut discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n Deacon Greg Kandra is an award-winning author and journalist, and creator of the blog \u201cThe Deacon\u2019s Bench.\u201d<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
To that, Jesus responded by telling him, \u201cYou are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is a better choice.<\/p>\n
A prayer of Father Mychal Judge<\/a>, the first fatality of 9\/11, sums up how we need to live as people who \u201cget behind\u201d Jesus:<\/p>\n
Let me meet who you want me to meet
Let me say what you want me to say
And please keep me out of your way.\u201d<\/p>\n