The Road Ahead

Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflecting on the Word

By Dr. Karla J. Bellinger

Every time that the rain is beating down hard, I am reminded of  a family camping trip. We had pitched our tent in the clouds of Mt.  Mitchell in North Carolina, the highest point in the eastern U.S.  After four days of soggy living, a thunderstorm was predicted. We  all agreed, “Enough! Let’s go get a hotel!” As we drove down the  mountain, the rain poured. Fog thickened. The sky blackened. The  windshield wipers swished as fast as they could go. It didn’t matter.  We couldn’t see in the dark. We couldn’t pull over, for there were  only guard rails and cliffs. It was scary. We could not see where we  were going. 

In today’s Gospel, Peter is high on a mountaintop when he  declares, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Then Jesus  tells them that he is going to Jerusalem to suffer and be killed. It was  like a deep fog descended: Peter could not see the road ahead. In fear  and uncertainty, he shouted out, “Noooo!!!! That will never happen  to you!” Peter loved Jesus. He cried out “no!” to that prediction of  grief and disruption. His windshield wipers didn’t work—he had no  idea where the road was. The uncertainty of it blinded him with fear. 

You and I, we can also be happily driving down the mountaintops of life when suddenly, out of the blue, a fog descends: a shutdown  of the world in a pandemic; an internal “Whoa!” to a diagnosis of  cancer; a sudden self-doubt that makes us unable to function . . . and  the windshield wipers won’t work. And we have no idea where the  road is or what lies ahead. 

What are we to do about the uncertainty? Jesus calls us to a  deeper response. He whispers, “Move over. Let go. Let me drive.” 

Consider/Discuss 

  • Peter found out that his very human answer, his outburst of fear and  uncertainty, was not Jesus’ answer. What did Jesus do with Peter’s  protectiveness? Jesus did not leave him to his own understanding. He said,  “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” How does  Jesus want to transform our human understanding as well? 
  • Our tendency is to clutch the steering wheel when the fog gets thick;  we cling tighter when we cannot see the road; we tense up when the  windshield wipers won’t work. How does Jesus stretch us to let go when he  says: “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his  life for my sake will save it”? 

Living and Praying with the Word 

Jesus, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God! As we exult  in you, we feel sunshine filling our souls. Then the fog descends,  and anxiety and fear threaten to overwhelm us. You have asked us  to share your cross. That can feel a little scary. We don’t want more  pain. And sometimes the windshield wipers won’t work, and we  cannot see where we are going. Yes, we will get up and carry our  cross and help you change the world in just a moment, but for now,  Jesus, just be here and hold us.

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