| First Reading: Psalm: Gospel: | Genesis 9:1-13 Psalm 102:16-21, 29, 22-23 Mark 8:27-33 |
Mark 8:33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter, and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God, but of men."
We often see this verse where Jesus rebukes Peter as a slam against the idea that Peter was the first Pope. Well, whether you call him Pope or not her was certainly first among the apostles. He is mentioned more than all the others, he was in Jesus' inner circle and Jesus gives him the command to shepherd his flock. History shows he was kind of like the leader.
But in this passage Jesus is dealing with temptation. He calls Peter Satan because Peter's rebuke of Jesus was a temptation to not go through with the plan. But Jesus, I believe, had another motive here as well. By allowing the others to see him rebuke Peter he helps Peter to remain on task in the future. This rebuke will help him to remain humble and not think that he has a better way. This may not have been so much a slam as preparation for the role that Peter was going to play in the early church. He is going to have to stay on plan and remain humble. The others will help him do that. Peter can't be a leader if nobody will follow. Humility and discipline are very important qualities of a good leader. These things are best achieved with public scrutiny. When we try to keep things secret we are putting ourselves at great risk of falling into temptation as Peter does later when he denies Jesus.
Father, help m by your Holy Spirit to always be open to the scrutiny of others so as to keep me humble and faithful to my calling. Help me to not think that I can rise up and offer a better way, but help me to follow your way.
Amen
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