Matthew 16:21-27

 TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME – YEAR A

Commentary of Fr. Fernando Armellini

A good Sunday to all. 

We certainly remember last week’s gospel when Jesus asked his disciples: "Who am I to you?" And Peter answered on behalf of everyone: "You are the Messiah." Jesus not only approved of his words but also added two promises that certainly filled Peter with pride. He said, "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind or untie on earth will be bound or untied in heaven." Then he added: "But do not tell anyone I am the Messiah." Why did Jesus give this order to the disciples? Because both the disciples and all the people had in mind a Messiah who was not only slightly different from God's Messiah but was the opposite of God's Messiah. 

In today's Gospel, we will hear Peter's reasoning; he does not reason poorly; he reasons according to common sense, which is how we also reason. This should be kept in mind because it is important not to disassociate ourselves too quickly and easily from Peter. After all, the Messiah Peter wants is what everyone likes, including us; it is the Messiah who fulfills our wishes and does what we ask him to do ... well… we will be disappointed! We all certainly met someone disappointed because they had not obtained with their prayers what they expected from Jesus or God: gifts, professional successes, healing ... for this reason, many have also abandoned the faith as they say: "What is the use of believing if God does not grant me what I ask for?" When someone confides these concerns to me, I simply say: ‘You are a devout person, but you were praying to the wrong about Messiah. There are other "messiahs" who give you these things.’ 

So, Jesus needs to clarify his identity because he does not want us to follow him for the wrong reasons; he doesn’t want to feed false expectations. His identity is challenging to understand and more difficult to accept. Today, he will present it to us, and Jesus will not be surprised or angry with Peter's and our resistance to accepting his proposal of Messiah. 

Fortunately, Jesus took Peter and his disciples as they were; they had to go a long way to understand Jesus’ identity as Messiah. Jesus will also be very patient with us. He understands that we struggle to accept this truth. Let's hear how he unequivocally presents his destiny. It is the first time, and he wants to be very clear. 

Let's listen: 

“Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

"Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem.” Peter must have thought: ‘Finally, Jesus made up his mind; let's go to Jerusalem to take power, and finally, the kingdom of God announced by the prophets will begin, a kingdom that, of course, we will administer, and finally, something beautiful will begin in the world.’ Jesus says, "I must go to Jerusalem." He does not have to go because he has received orders from someone, not even from the heavenly Father; Jesus gets orders from his identity as the Son of God. 

He is the perfect image of the Father; he reflects the face of the Father, who is love, and this can only be done if he goes to Jerusalem. It is his identity that leads him to go to Jerusalem! Jerusalem is the capital of religious and political power. Let us distinguish power from authority. Authority is a service done to the community; it is the service of those who administer the order of a community. Power is dominance; those who aspire to impose themselves on others, to be served by others, to think for all, and to decide what they want and what gives them prestige. 

This longing leads to the world of death we all know, the world of violence, wars, abuses, and injustices. Jesus must end this world governed by the logic of the power of the strongest over the weakest and propose a new world. Who opposes the new world? They are the defenders of the old world, those in power. Jesus enumerates them and says, "They are the ones who will make me suffer greatly." 

First group: The elders. Who are they? They are the custodians of tradition, of the mentality that they instill in people from an early age, a mentality that carries forward the criteria of the old world. Who is just and blessed by God according to tradition? He who has wealth because wealth is a sign that the Lord has blessed a person; whoever reaches prestigious positions, whoever succeeds ‘is a person blessed by God,’ the elders say, because it means that he has been faithful to the precepts that we teach with our traditions.’ ‘Blessed by God’ is the one to whom all must bow, who occupies the first places in synagogues, the first at banquets. With the elders, with those who love to perpetuate this image of man according to traditional criteria, Jesus could only enter into conflict, and inevitably, he will lose badly; lambs can only lose in the face of wolves. 

The second group is the priests. They are the ones who officiate in the temple, the guardians of religion. What was the religion practiced in the temple? It was a religion based on a business relationship with God. Those who performed all these ceremonies imposed by the priests: sacrifices, incense, burnt offerings, songs, and liturgies, expected God's favors in exchange. Jesus canceled this pagan relationship with God forever. The God of Jesus does not want any sacrifice; his love is free of charge; he loves all his sons and daughters, even those who ignore him, even those who want nothing to do with him ... God loves them because there is nothing to merit. One has just to let oneself be involved in this love. It is about welcoming this gratuitousness and sharing this gratuitous love with the brothers and sisters. What is a pure and immaculate religion? James tells us in the first chapter of his letter: "The pure and immaculate religion is to help orphans and widows and keep the heart away from the goods of this world." It is the opposite of the temple religion. 

The third group that will make Jesus suffer is the scribes. They are the custodians of the Word of God, which they have appropriated. They interpret it in their way, and nobody can escape their interpretations. The problem is that they have forgotten the message of the prophets, who had presented the God of love—a God who is Father—a God who is like a husband who loves his wife unconditionally, even if she betrays him. 

The scribes, on the other hand, presented a disfigured image of the face of God: the legislating God, a severe and rigorous judge who punishes those who dare to transgress his orders. Jesus must face these power groups; what will be his destiny? Jesus says, "They will kill me." These opponents of the new world will defeat him; it is the lamb's fate among wolves. But Jesus continues: ‘It will not end like this; death will not be the final destination of my life; The path that I must follow is the path that I will propose to all those who want to follow me.’ 

From the beginning, Christians were called "those of the way," those who follow a different path from the others, a path traced by their Messiah. This path aims at the gift of life, but the final destination of those who give life is not death; it is the entrance to the fullness of life. Jesus says, "I will rise again on the third day." What does the third day mean? Jesus is not making a chronological prediction that three days must pass since his death; NO! Jesus was referring to Hosea's prophecy, which announced the intervention of God, who never leaves his faithful at the mercy of death. The third day means "immediately after." If you do not see this final destiny of those who love to the point of giving up their lives, you cannot follow Jesus on the path he is proposing. 

This promise that he makes about the final destination is mysterious because it cannot be verified; no one has had the experience of what it means to be resurrected, that is, not to return here, to this world, but to enter into the glory of the Father; therefore this whole proposal to follow Jesus along this path is made only if we trust him. This is faith; it means: ‘I can't see, I can’t verify the final destination, but I trust your Word and risk my life in your proposal.’ At this point, if we're not a little stunned, it means we have not understood where Jesus is going and where he wants to take us; instead, Peter understood very well. Let's hear how it reacts: Peter took Jesus aside and rebuked him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” 

Peter understood very well where Jesus wanted to go, and he disagreed. The evangelist says that he began to rebuke Jesus. The verb ‘rebuke’ does not translate well into the Greek verb: ‘ἐπιτιμᾶν’ - ‘epitimán.’ The evangelists use this verb when Jesus casts out demons, but he does not rebuke them. He threatens them! Jesus does an exorcism to keep the devil away from these people. Here, it is as if Peter wanted to drive the devil away from Jesus because only the devil can have put specific ideas in Jesus’ head. 

It's as if Peter was saying, 'You're a heretic, be careful!' In our translation, Peter says, "God forbid," but not strictly! ‘Ἵλεώς σοι’ = ‘Ileos soi’ means ‘God forgive you for the stupidity you said! The devil put it in your mouth.’ He then takes Jesus aside as if he is becoming a teacher, explaining that maybe the catechesis given to Jesus at Nazareth ignored the prophets' promises. Peter says, ' But how can you talk about a just man going to end badly? God protects his chosen ones, and God is strong; he is powerful.’ 

Peter indeed started to remind Jesus of the Scriptures because Peter might not have known the rest of the Bible, but the prophecies about the glory of the Messiah and the glory of Israel knew them by heart. What does Psalm 72 say about the Messiah? "May he rule from sea to sea, from the river to the ends of the earth. May his foes kneel before him, and his enemies lick the dust. May the kings of Tarshish and the islands bring tribute, and may the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts. May all kings bow before him, all nations serve him” (Ps 72:8-11). Also, Isaiah, when he speaks of the light of the new Jerusalem: "Caravans of camels shall cover you, dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; All from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense and heralding the praises of the Lord. Your gates shall stand open constantly… So that they may bring you the wealth of nations,
with their kings in the vanguard” (Is 60:6.11). Then, the promises of Moses in chapter 28 of Deuteronomy: "All the peoples of the earth will see that the name of the Lord is proclaimed over you, and they will be afraid of you. The Lord will make you the head, not the tail, the top, not the bottom" (Deut 28:10,13).

Everybody remembered these prophecies very well. Peter must have been surprised that Jesus did not take them into account; he tried to exorcise Jesus to de-demonize him. 

Let us now listen to what is the answer that Jesus gives him: 

“Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.’” 

"Jesus turned “means that he was fast-forward on his way, and certainly, Peter would not have dissuaded him from his path. Turning to Peter, he says, ‘Don't stand before me. I already know where I have to go, follow me,’ and adds, ' Satan. ' "Satan, in Hebrew, is not a proper name; it is a common name. It indicates the adversary, the one taking you down paths of death. 

Peter embodies this evil force that moves away from the God of life. Jesus says to him, "You are a scandal." It means a stumbling block, an obstacle. Peter, the building stone of the Lord's temple, becomes a "stone scandal" if he follows people's thoughts. Jesus says to him: ‘It is not I who have the ideas suggested by the evil one; it is you who follow what Satan suggests.’ 

We notice that Peter does not even imagine that he is Satan; he is very convinced that he is right and is very convinced to seek what is good for Jesus and what God wants. Peter confused the thoughts and the reasonableness of people with the thoughts of God. Let's ask ourselves why, like Peter, we belong to the group that follows Jesus, listen to his Gospel, are convinced that we are his disciples, and think as he thinks. But are we that sure? 

Like Peter, we could also be a little Satan without knowing it. We could cultivate projects dictated by people’s criteria and not by God's thoughts. Are we sure to think and judge according to God and not according to people when we make our choices? Are we sure, sometimes, that we are not a scandal, that is, an obstacle to the kingdom of God? 

Just browse the pages of Church history to realize that, in good faith, we Christians have often reasoned according to human criteria, justifying what men justified but that the Gospel did not justify. Let us now listen to Jesus' proposal to those who want to follow him: Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” 

It is not only Peter who thinks according to people and not according to God; in reality, all the disciples felt like him, and it is to them that Jesus is addressing now, to each disciple, therefore also to us ... what does he say? "Whoever wishes to come after me." 

It is a proposal that does not impose anything because, in love, there can be no imposition. Otherwise, it would be violence. Jesus wants people to understand that it is beautiful to follow him freely; it is beautiful to unite our own life with his; the proposals he now makes cannot be modified; they can be accepted or rejected. Jesus is not angry; he understands that if we make other decisions, the strength of the evil one is strong inside us; centering on ourselves conditions us. Therefore, Jesus has a lot of patience in his love, and he wants to involve us in his life because he wants us to be happy, and he is very patient; he knows how to wait. 

What are his proposals? He presents them with three imperatives, but they are not orders. They describe the life of those who have chosen to live because living means loving; therefore, Jesus does nothing more than present this life that is his.

 Here are the proposals: 

The first: "Deny yourself." What does that mean? A certain preaching began from this first request to present the praise of sacrifices, of the pain offered to God, that to please Him, we had to fast and do penance ... God doesn't want our pain; He just wants our joy! God doesn't know what to do with pain! From this incorrect interpretation, it was born the image of a sad faith and the Christian as the enemy of joy. A false vision! 

Jesus does not ask the disciples to abandon joy, but God only wants us to be happy. Jesus warns: ‘Be careful because if you follow the path that the reasonableness of this world offers you, you can find pleasure, but you will not achieve joy.’ What does the reasonableness of the world suggest to you? Jesus says: ‘The wrong way does not lead you to joy, and as I love you, I warn you, you will not find it.’ The world's reasoning tells you: ‘When you do something, think about your advantages, think about yourself; you must be at the center of your interests.’ The problem is that God has programmed us not to live like this, and whoever lives like this will always be in conflict with himself because we are well made, and then that person will not be happy. Only those who enter this dynamic of love can be Happy. 

And this is Jesus's proposal: ‘Forget about yourself, stop thinking about yourself, you just have to think of making your brother and sister happy. If you love one another to accumulate merit in heaven, you're still thinking of yourself; also, love the enemy because it is good to love; your nature as a son and daughter of God manifests itself in love!’ 

The second imperative: "Carry your cross." Here, we have another of the famous phrases, very often quoted and one of the most misunderstood of the Gospels. It was interpreted as an exhortation to resignation: "Carry your cross"; when you are not feeling well, you say ‘this is the cross that God sent me’ ... NO! God does not send crosses; the crosses of life must be borne. There was no need for Him to come and tell us. 

Here, it is not about bearing crosses but about making the choice that Jesus made: to end at the cross. Why did he end on the cross? Because he rejected the powers of this world, of those who wanted to perpetuate the old world, the world of wars, that world that made sufferings for the sons and daughters of God ... it was not the world that God planned in creation; and since he wanted to introduce a new world, the old world has reacted. 

Jesus tells you: ‘Make the choice I made,' and with your words and your life, show that you belong to a new world, and remember that you will pay for this choice. If you choose to be available to serve those in need and you do not take advantage of all the opportunities you have to enjoy life, then you will not be considered a successful person. Those who choose to be at the service of others wouldn’t excel, wouldn’t manage to make a name for themselves, and wouldn’t be famous. If you give up revenge against those who have wronged you, those who hurt you, the wise people of this world will consider you weak, incapable of imposing yourself, of asserting yourself. If you cultivate those values that society has neglected, you will be regarded as retrograde; if you take an active position in favor of the smallest, you commit to denounce and fight against injustices, you could also pay dearly for your choice. 

In any case, you will be in the same condition I was in when the cross was laid on my shoulders and passed among the people; I received insults because the world does not understand this proposal I made of a new world.’ Those who choose this new world must know what they are facing! 

The third proposal: "Follow me." To follow someone, you must always watch him, not lose sight of him; it's like having the satellite navigation (GPS) always in tune with where he is going; and if this satellite navigation loses battery, we immediately go off-road, we have to recharge it immediately. How is this satellite navigation that allows us to recharge and always see where Jesus is going? I see how I have to walk in every moment of my life because I know how he moved. The satellite navigator is called ‘prayer,’ which means always being in touch with the Word of the Gospel, which always keeps the life given by Jesus of Nazareth under our eyes. 

Jesus presented his love life to us at the end of his life when he said: ‘Do you want to know who I am? Behold, this bread is me. I made myself bread, ate this bread, and assimilate my whole love story.’ The Eucharist is this and only this! To conclude, Jesus now makes four wise arguments that he did not invent; he looked for them in Biblical wisdom, especially in Psalm 49; let's hear them: 

“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay all according to his conduct.” 

Jesus's proposal to the disciples is paradoxical, and they will inevitably be perplexed and hesitant: "Are we going to follow him or not?" Here, then, Jesus makes four wise arguments because he wants to convince them to make the right decision, the one that he proposes, and, of course, this argument is also for us because we, too, remain quite undecided in the choices of life. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” What does he mean by that? Think about your life; you realize how fast your life goes. It does not last many years as you would like to keep it, but your life escapes you; how can you save your life? The world gives you suggestions and says: ‘Life is short; enjoy with banquets and have fun.’ 

What do we see on the floors of the Roman triclinia? We see the inscription: ‘Carpe Diem’ with the skeleton of death; it was not to make people think about the meaning of life or to sadden them; it was to say, ‘you are in the triclinium, here you eat and drink, enjoy life because life is short, Carpe Diem!’ This is the suggestion the world gives you, which is very current. Jesus suggests: ‘If you want something to remain, donate your life, give it for love because only the life given is what remains because it becomes love; love belongs to the divine, and the divine is not touched by biological death.’ Think wisely! Jesus says. 

Second reasoning: "What good is it to a man to win the whole world if he loses his life?" He loses it, life goes away, and he wins the whole world. What do you do with that entire world in the end? What does Jesus mean? The kingdoms of this world postulate the field of knowledge, of money, of power, of pleasures ... if you ruin your existence in this way, all these conquests of yours, all your successes will be ephemeral, they have no consistency because in the hour of death from all these things there is nothing left! 

Third reasoning: "What price will you pay for your life?" If you allow yourself to be guided by the criteria of this world, in the end, what do you give in exchange for recovering this life? It's not possible! So, is it worth thinking that this life is eternal, forgetting that it is transitory? When the lights that dazzled the scene of this world go out, when the deceptive idol glitters go out, those idols that have charmed and seduced many people disappear, and the true light shines, that of God, then the value of life appears. Jesus invites you to reflect: ‘Be careful, at the end of life, all goods, all prizes, diplomas, and accumulated honorary titles are requisitioned. In heaven, only the person enters. Your life, therefore, if it was lived for love, is a life that is preserved; otherwise, it is a life that was wasted. 

Jesus' final reasoning: "The Son of Man is to come with the glory of his Father and accompanied by his angels. Then he will pay each one according to his conduct.” Let's pay close attention to what the text says because we think that each one will be paid ‘according to their work,’ that is, what they have to pay if they live their life badly; here it does not say according to their works, according to what they have done. We will be judged according to 'His works,’ the works of God.' What is this work of God? It is his masterpiece, Jesus of Nazareth, the perfect image of the true Son of God who perfectly reflects the image of the Father. This masterpiece was put before our eyes, and in the end, our lives will be considered successful or failed depending on the greater or lesser similarity with this masterpiece. 

I hope the Lord has convinced us, at least with these last four wise words, of what he has done to us. 

I wish you all a good Sunday and a good week.