This line in today’s gospel has been resonating with me these past weeks. Next time the day’s pressures trip you into anger, aggression, or sarcasm, imagine Jesus stopping you, gently grasping your arm and saying “But who do you say that I am? (Mark 8:29). Like Peter, do we say “well, uh… ‘you are the Christ’ (‘so of course you can fix this for me’) … or might we just hold that thought a moment and take our time to reflect on our personal response to his intense question, “but who do you say that I am?
One-Up?
Jesus seems to be doing an assessment of sorts. He is trying to figure out what his disciples actually understand after three years together with Him. He has carefully listened to His Father’s requests and requirements, created relevant parables, and explained the parables multiple times in multiple ways. Yet when things are growing scary, with Jesus talking about how He will “suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed” (Mark 8:30-31), Peter still thinks in human terms, and tries to recommend an alternate route to Jesus’ fulfillment of His Father’s will. Now for a moment, think of yourself in Peter’s shoes. How often do we try to “one-up” what is actually God’s Will? I often seem to think I have a better plan… well, maybe I have not even thought about, let alone asked or discerned, what God’s will be in a particular situation. Especially in the little daily situations that seem to overtake my tongue with quickness.
How Do We Respond?
We want to defend what we know and love, just as Peter wanted to protect Jesus. So, we throw up our guards, our shields, our walls, our defenses and say, “no way” you will not be hurting me today!” Although, is the other person really trying to hurt us, or are we just playing this out in our heads as if they were? Are we responding like Peter, as humans, or might we take a step back and try to find God in the situation, in the words, in the scene we play out in our heads? Okay, maybe it’s just me, but if I spent less time in dialogue in my head, where I converse with people and react to situations that have not actually come to fruition, I would have more time to consider what Jesus is saying to me when he says “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do” (Mark 8:33). It is interesting to note that Jesus then “warned them not to tell anyone about him.” Surely, He was telling them this for their own good, so they would not misconstrue the message and perhaps unintentionally interfere with God’s will for Him.
More Peace
Jesus wanted the disciples to slow down, stay peaceful, and let Him do what He needed to do. And wouldn’t that be helpful to each of us each day? Next time we find ourselves wound up about this or that (and it is likely to happen before the end of the day), let us put ourselves in Peter’s shoes, knowing what Jesus is going to say. Maybe we’ll respond with a little less aggression and a little more peace, knowing we would rather stand strong beside Jesus, and fulfill God’s will in that moment, instead of holding Jesus back from fulfilling God’s will. This way, we offer a clear response when Jesus asks us “Who do you say that I am?”
