The Road Ahead
Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 50:5–9a / Psalm 116:9 / James 2:14–18 / Mark 8:27–35
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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.