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I wonder if this is just another of Peter’s “foot in his mouth” episodes. He’s well known of course for opening his mouth before engaging his brain.
In the verses just prior to this in Matthews Gospel Peter had declared boldly to Jesus:
You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God.
Jesus responded with:
Blessed are you,
Simon son of Jonah,
for this was not revealed
to you by man,
but by my
Father in heaven.
Jesus even went on to say this:
And I tell you that you are
Peter, and on this rock
I will build my church
and the powers of hell
will not overcome it.
Jesus finished by saying this:
I will give you the keys
of the kingdom of heaven;
whatever you bind on earth
will be bound in heaven,
whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
It seems strange, almost tragic, that immediately following his conversation. Immediately following these wonderful affirmations that Jesus had given to Peter
Peter seems to revert to type. Jesus says that Peter is right and that the way forward now is to Jerusalem.
But this leads to danger and death.
Certainly for Jesus and possibly his followers
Peter argues with Jesus.
“God forbid it Lord. This must never happen to you.”
Jesus’ response to Peter was, it seems, very swift and very harsh. He said:
“Get behind me, Satan!
You are a stumbling block to me;
You are setting your mind
not on divine things but on human things.”
Perhaps in thinking about danger and death, Peter is perhaps thinking more about himself
setting his mind on human things.
not on divine things
The word "Satan" here is from Hebrew perhaps Aramaic origin. It literally means "an adversary," or an opponent, one who stands against something that we intend to do.
The meaning that Satan has today as "the chief of evil spirits" or the devil
comes from Christian traditions unknown at the time the Gospels were written
Jesus here may have used it to simply indicate that Peter was opposed to him and his plans. That Peter’s views and feelings stood in the way of Jesus’ plans. That Peter had in fact set his mind on human things and NOT on the things of God
Some prophets model the moral life. Some prophets heal. Some prophets impress crowds with miracles. Jeremiah preached. Jeremiah's job was to speak.
In our reading from Jeremiah 15, we can clearly see Jeremiah's call to speak.
Speech saturates our lives.
Prime Ministers, politicians, teachers, church leaders and many more make speeches. The media is filled with talking heads. Advertisers similarly study what makes speech work on people. We exercise their right to free speech. We live in a loud world.
We can speak our minds in our Facebook status updates and Twitter feeds. We can comment on blogs. We can write blogs. We are surrounded by microphones, videos, Skype, television, apps, and websites. Speech is everywhere.
Occasionally, our society pauses to examine the way in which we use speech. Especially if that speech is likely to incite violence or anger. Mostly our speech continues at a rate of knots
The pace is confusing
The volume is deafening,
The density is overwhelming.
One may realistically argue that this is not a healthy state of affairs
I am reminded of the Proverb that says: (10:19)
When words are many, sin is not absent,
but they who hold their tongue are wise.
In general, we could learn a lot from the practice of restraint. Indeed, fasting from speech in a normal day can offer tremendous insights!
Bring us closer to God
Jeremiah's call offers us a unique opportunity to reflect on the type of speech that we use. Especially I suspect, the type of speech we use to relate to who we are in Christ
Or speech about our faith in general
Jeremiah had complained to God. He said:
You spoke to me, and I listened to every word.
I belong to you, Lord God Almighty,
Your words filled my heart with joy and happiness.
Jeremiah went on to say:
Why do I keep on suffering? Why are my wounds incurable? Why won't they heal? Do you intend to disappoint me like a stream that goes dry in the summer?
To this the Lord replied:
If you return, I will take you back, and you will be my servant again.
God goes on to say this:
If instead of talking nonsense, you proclaim a worthwhile message, you will be my prophet again.
The people will come back to you, and you will not need to go to them.
Prophetic speech is not reserved for the biblical prophets alone.
In the book of Numbers, Moses says this:
I wish that all the LORD'S people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!
What would prophetic speech sound like coming from our mouths.
Prophetic speech is not simply inspired opinion. Neither does it draw strength from current attitudes or prevailing thought.
Prophetic speech comes from a profound encounter with God.
Where do our profound encounters with God come from? What should we as individuals be doing to get closer to God? What should we as a church be doing to get a closer relationship with God? How do we ensure that we are NOT a stumbling block to God. That our minds are on Godly things and NOT human things.
All Jesus’ followers are summoned to deny themselves and to be ready to follow Jesus and part of that “denying ourselves” is to set our minds on Godly things and NOT what we want
“For whoever wishes to save his/her life, will lose it,
but whoever loses his/her life for my sake will find it.”
Taking the cross and denying one’s self captures the moral code of Matthew’s Gospel. The “life” promised to disciples is the true life lived out and taught by Jesus:
rejection of power when offered all the kingdoms of the world;
identification with the poor, the mourners, the peacemakers
those who seek justice; forgiveness of enemies,
quiet and constant prayer to a loving Father,
inner peace amid threats and suffering
All these are thinking as God thinks, as lived out by Jesus himself
We live in a pain-avoidant world. That we should embrace sacrifice and suffering as a response to God’s call sounds ridiculous. Yet, if we seek healing and sustainability in our world, we will see the wisdom in this call.
If each of us embrace our "calling", we can have global impact in our own small way
Among other things it will require us to release our places of privilege. It will require us to turn away from our consumer, accumulation mentality. To embrace the sacrifice of a simpler life style, To re-evaluate our financial contributions
We may find ourselves choosing to walk more or to ride a bicycle instead of using our cars as much.
We may need to reduce our meat intake.
We may need to allocate more of our income to giving and support of those with less. We may have to take stands in uncomfortable ways among our friends and families . . . especially over issues like inclusion of the marginalised, and loving our enemies.
It may mean choosing to give our vote to a difficult and unpopular cause. We may need to seek to understand people we would normally consider "enemies".
It may mean giving up on certain clothes, foodstuffs or sweets. . .. in order to ensure we don’t participate in the oppression or slavery of others.
As we as individuals and groups respond to God’s call, we become part of a movement of grace.
A movement of healing, love and sacrifice that has the power to really change things
The old adage, "Think Globally, Act Locally" is relevant to today’s message. The global healing that is required in our world today will not come about UNLESS: . . . . . . we embrace the call to sacrifice and to "losing our lives" in our local settings.
As we feed the hungry, clothe the naked and reconcile with our enemies . . we contribute to a more passionate, connected and whole world.
As we follow God’s call, let us:
set our minds on divine things NOT on human things
Amen |
