We have to admit that this Corona Virus pandemic has taken us completely by surprise. It has turned our lives upside down.
Have you noticed the different reactions people have to it? There is fear. There is denial. Some are quick to point the finger of blame. Others say defiantly, “We can beat this thing!” Still others say in disbelief, “This should not be happening to us!”
Today we hear Peter’s reaction when Jesus began to talk about something that would soon turn his world upside down – his suffering, death and resurrection. Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “This shall never happen to you” (22).
I think Peter missed the part about the resurrection, but even if he did hear it, he saw no reason why God’s plan of salvation should include the death of his own Son.
Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (23).
Jesus is saying that it’s a matter of perspective. It depends from what angle you look at it. Peter saw Jesus’ death as a major hindrance in his mission as Messiah. From Jesus’ perspective though, Peter’s view of things was the hindrance.
From a human perspective, Peter couldn’t cope with the reality of the cross as part of God’s saving plan. Later, from the perspective of the open grave on Easter morning, he saw the meaning of the cross more clearly.
The Holy Spirit helped him understand that the suffering and death of God’s Son is at the very centre of his plan of salvation. Far from being a hurdle or a hindrance, the cross is God’s answer – the ultimate answer to the lost, sinful condition of mankind.
Without the suffering and death of Jesus, there is no salvation.
So how do you cope with the news about your cross?
“What cross?” you might say.
Jesus went on to tell his disciples (and us) that the life of discipleship involves denying ourselves, taking up our cross, following him faithfully, losing our life in him, and even for him (24).
How do you react to that? It’s easy to react like Peter, in denial or disbelief. We think about what we might have to give up, or leave behind to follow Jesus. We think about how we may suffer because of our faith in Jesus. We think about what it might mean to lose control of our life – and even be ready to die for him.
We may feel like saying with Peter, “Lord, this should never happen to me! How can suffering and self-sacrifice be part of your plan?” Like Peter, our human natures struggle to cope with the prospect of a costly discipleship, or suffering in this life.
That is until Jesus responds to our fear and disbelief, and encourages us to look at life from a different perspective. Jesus tells his disciples not to think about what we may lose but what we may gain, saying, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (25). The end result of following Jesus is not a cross, or suffering; it is a resurrection to new life in his kingdom forever.
Here’s the new perspective: When we hear Jesus’ call to deny ourselves, we hear it from the mouth of the very One who denied himself completely for us, to rescue us from sin and its consequences forever.
When we hear Jesus’ call to take up our cross, we hear it from the mouth of the One who took up his cross for us; who bore our griefs and carried our sorrows, so that nothing in all creation could separate us from his love.
When we hear Jesus’ call to follow him, we hear it from the mouth of One who followed his Father’s will perfectly for us – even to the cross – so that we might know the power of his perfect life as our very own.
When we hear Jesus’ call to lose our lives in him, we hear it from the mouth of the One who willingly lost his life for us, so that – by baptism and faith – our lives may be, “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:2-3).
We hear the call to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Christ from the very mouth of the, “the Son of Man [who] is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father” (27) to receive us into the eternal kingdom prepared by his Father.
So, when we fail to make sense of the cost of being a disciples of Jesus, or the suffering in this present life; when we are tempted to cry out, “This should not be happening to me!,” Jesus turns to us – as he did to Peter – and invites us to see our lives, not from a worldly point of view, but from the perspective of his cross, his empty tomb; and life in his eternal kingdom.
Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, whenever our circumstances overwhelm us and we are overcome with fear or disbelief, comfort us with the promise of sins forgiven and the gift of eternal life through your cross. And may the cross we bear daily as your disciples continue to direct us to the blessed hope of your coming with the angels. Amen.
And the peace of God which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
