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.”
Fully divine and fully human, Jesus said first to Peter, “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church” and next, “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” This is Jesus calling Peter to a higher standard, to be like God through his indwelling in us, as is expressed in the first reading from the book of Jeremiah: “I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” In that short passage, God speaks the word covenant four times. And what is that covenant but God’s commitment to us in his unfathomable mercy, found in its fullest expression in the incarnation? “All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD, for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.” The cost of this to God? The cost was the suffering and death of his Son. For this reason, Jesus said to Peter, “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
God, thank you for the gift of your covenant, your unending mercy. Help me understand what you need from me in order to please you. The responsorial psalm says, “For you are not pleased with sacrifices; should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it. My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.” I can’t help thinking, God, that just as I try at times to be a people pleaser, I behave in the same way toward you. Give me the grace to avoid hollow sacrifices and instead be ready for you with a clean heart. “A willing spirit sustain in me, Lord.”
Lord, you are with me always. Even as I struggle to see that you are present in the quiet times of the day or amid the bustle of activity. Come, Holy Spirit. Be with me today and let me know you are present, not in ephemeral sensations but through the certainty of faith. Lord, give me the grace to turn to you during the day and acknowledge you in my thoughts, words, and actions. Help me think not as human beings do but as you do, relying on your covenant with me, which you have placed upon my heart.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.