Me? Wrong?

It was pointed out to me recently that people who think that they have all of the right answers, cannot handle being wrong; and therefore may never be able to learn anything new. That applies equally to Catholics and Evangelicals; to Republicans and Democrats; to U. S. Americans and the "enemies" of our country.

St. Peter began his life of discipleship as one of these "can't ever be wrong" people. In last week's Gospel story he had the correct answer. "You are the Christ!" he declared to Jesus and his fellow disciples. While the other disciples were guessing that Jesus was a dead prophet, revisited, Peter let them and Jesus know that the long awaited Messiah had arrived in the person of Jesus. In fact, Jesus calls Peter and his witness to the truth "The Rock" upon which the Church will be built. He gives St. Peter the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. That is a very nice honor and reward for just answering Jesus' quiz correctly.

Yet this weekend's Gospel shows St. Peter getting in trouble with Jesus because he is sure that he is correct and Jesus is wrong. Jesus tells His followers how He is going to be the Messiah or Christ. His way of saving the human race involved being totally humiliated and subjected to disgrace, denial, untruthful testimony, trial, bloody and painful punishment, and eventually the most gruesome and agonizing form of capital punishment ever devised by a human mind.

That was not St. Peter's idea for the long awaited Savior. What he and other people of his time were looking for was someone to come into their country to free them from Roman subjugation. They wanted a savior who could restore Israel to being the leading nation of the world. They wanted a King; a REAL King; not some puppet of an occupying government "king". Or they wanted a religious Messiah. That meant that the savior that of Israel was going to be someone who would forcefully make sure that the Jewish religion and the God of the Jews was the preeminent god above all other gods AND that their religion and their temples would be the only avenue to the Divine. Either the Messiah as the King and war chief or the Messiah as the powerful priest, teacher and prophet could only be achieved by the mightily taking control of the government or forcefully taking control of the Jewish religion. Peter, and almost all others of his time, thought they had the only answer of what the Messiah should do to save humanity. AND their ideas starkly contrasted to the Messiah that Jesus was and is.

So, when Jesus tells His "Rock" and keeper of the Keys to the Kingdom that he was Satan, Peter was completely knocked on his humiliated bum. We know the rest of the story though. Peter recovers here and again at the end of the story when he denies the Christ three times while Jesus was saving us in the only Way that would really work.

Peter eventually found out what all great learners find out. Unless one is open to the possibility that they may be wrong, then a person can never really learn anything.

Jesus tells us and His followers of His day that all is a loss unless we are willing to deny all that we are and all that we know for God's sake. It was so difficult a lesson that even St. Peter almost couldn't grasp it in the First century. Is is tough for us to hear and commit to in 2014. Denying our lives, denying what we think we know, denying what we would rather love for the sake of God and His will is the way of Jesus the Christ; and the only Way to eternal life.

Are you and I willing to be that open to God?

Blessings!
Fr. Chuck