Fools for Christ

"You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." Mk 8:33

St Peter, because of his good will and strong temperament, is forever getting himself in trouble. Quick to speak and offer an opinion, in today's scripture he challenges Jesus not to speak about his own suffering and death, and assures the Lord that he will intervene if anyone tries to hurt him. Though Peter had good will, he did not have good sense,. He spoke before he understood God's intent for Jesus, and Jesus puts Peter in his place in very direct terms. Get behind me Satan, these are human words not God's.

It can be very difficult to be corrected so directly and publicly, but that is often the price believers pay. Intent on announcing the Good News, they too often put their foot in their mouth. When Peter does this, Jesus points it out and seems to warn him that unless he learns, he will be in even more trouble. Still, we love Peter. We love his passion, his brazen willingness to defend Jesus for all the wrong reasons. We love Peter because he takes chances, not because he is arrogant, but because he is faith filled. That his faith is misplaced is not the issue. That he believes with all his heart is.

Most of us are too timid to take chances like Peter. We wait, gauge our responses and hope for the best. Thought we might avoid mistakes, we rarely witness to the one in whom we believe without dotting every I and crossing every T.  Do we need to ask for the courage and faith to change?

Today, ask God for Peter's big heart and passion.