From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life [Matthew 16:21, NIV].
Back in my Wake Forest undergraduate years, now half a century ago, I had a favorite Ancient History professor with an unusual first name and several idiosyncrasies. His name: Cyclone Covey. “Cyclone” was not a nickname, but rather the name given him by his parents. He had two PhDs: one in Music, the other in Ancient History. Totally erudite, he always dressed in a dapper tweed sports jacket and tie. His mind expanded in every direction.
One joke about him was that if you asked him a question, he’d pause for a few seconds to collect himself, then begin his answer with pre-civilization, and move forward. “The Cyclone” was also kind-hearted. For example, if he called upon you to answer a question and your answer was either incorrect or, while partially correct, was nevertheless not the point he was trying to elucidate, he’d smile, look at you gently, and then, hoping for a better response, say, “Come again?” A gentleman, of course, would never say, “What?”
The vision that I have of Simon Peter is that he was quite unlike “the Cyclone.” That is to say, if you said something about which he disagreed, he wouldn’t gently ask for clarification; he’d confront you straight on. Take the shouting match between Peter and Jesus that Matthew, the Gospel writer, records for us in this week’s Gospel lesson [Matthew 16:21-29, the thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A]. The passage is a continuation of last week’s lesson which, as you’ll recall, ended on a high note.
In last week’s reading, Peter, responding to a heart provoking question by Jesus — “And what about you? Who do you say that I am?” [16:15] — allows that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” That statement was so powerful and prescient that Jesus’ response is to tell Peter that Jesus will build the church upon Peter (utilizing a pun on Peter’s name), “and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” [16:18, NIV].
If you had been one of the original disciples — I’m talking about the broader group of followers, not just the Twelve — wouldn’t your reaction to that sort of Good News have been excitement, even exhilaration? Yahweh’s promise to hear and respond to the cries of the Hebrew people is being fulfilled; the Anointed One is standing before you! He’s not just some prophet — oh, prophets are great — this one, this Jesus of Nazareth, is the One, the one for whom the nation has been waiting! And even better — you get to be present and be a part of the whole wondrous enterprise! Your mind quickly recalls that slight you received from that Roman bureaucrat several years ago. It’s been eating at you for some time now. “Humph,” you think, “There’s a new sheriff in town. That bureaucrat will find out who’s boss now that the Messiah is finally here.”
And then, of course, Jesus spoils everything. This week’s lesson picks up with a textual pivot: “From that time on …” [16:21]. Matthew relates that from that moment on, Jesus began to explain that the Messiah wouldn’t be embraced; he’d be rejected. He wouldn’t be revered; he’d be spit upon. His “crown” would be fashioned not from gold, but from thorns. He wouldn’t be elevated to a throne; instead, he’ll be elevated on a cross on a hill near the city dump. Clearly this isn’t what Peter (and the others) had in mind at all when Peter spoke the wonderful truth that standing before them was the Messiah.
If Dr. Covey had been there and if, after hearing all this from Jesus, Dr. Covey had been expecting some other manifestation of the Messiah, he likely would have gently looked at Jesus and said, “Come again?” But as I’ve noted, Peter and “the Cyclone” weren’t cut from the same cloth. And so, Peter’s response is abrupt; it’s presumptuous. The text says that Peter literally “took hold of Jesus, and scolding him, began to correct him: “God forbid, Lord! This won’t happen to you.”
Jesus, mindful of the temptations he had endured from the mouth of Satan in the wilderness [Matthew 4:1-11], shouts back at his foe, “Get behind me, Satan. You are a stumbling block [again, a pun on Peter’s name] to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns [16:23, NIV]. Jesus yells at Peter to “get behind” Him because that is where “followers” must gather — behind Jesus, not in front or along side Him. Jesus then explains that “all” — His words don’t just apply to the disciples, but to all of us — who want to follow the Messiah will first need to deny themselves and then “take up their cross” [16:24].
“I do that all the time,” some of us say. But do we, really? You’ve heard (perhaps even uttered) the echo, “I serve on two church committees when I’d rather have more free time with the family.”
“Last year, I gave $200 to Urban Ministries? Year before last, I even helped serve a meal one Thursday evening. Is that the kind of cross that Jesus is talking about?”
“Twice a year, no matter what, I take flowers over to the nursing home. You know, they were so nice to Mama during her final illness.”
Indeed, as a friend has preached, “Our list of ‘little crosses’ is endless.” But, Jesus isn’t talking about “random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.” There is nothing random in taking up one’s cross. Moreover, cross-bearing is usually anything but beautiful; it’s often sad, draining, and painful. Jesus walks the dusty, dirty trails of misery and weakness. Jesus hangs out on the wrong side of the tracks. If one gets in line behind Him, one’s shoes are going to get dirty. And yet, Jesus also tells us that it is in losing our lives this way (for His sake) that we actually gain true life [16:25b].
In last week’s lesson, Peter was the recipient of blessing, but here, Peter — like some of the rest of us — puts his own thoughts ahead of the ways of God, which makes him a stumbling block to Jesus’ mission. Be mindful, however, that Jesus did not break his relationship with Peter after the latter’s misstep. Instead he reminded Peter that Peter’s proper place is as a follower. This isn’t the first of Peter’s blunders; it won’t be his last.
This week’s lesson ends with a somewhat nebulous statement by Jesus that the Son of God will return to us in judgment “in his Father’s glory with his angels” [16:27]. I think “the Cyclone” would turn to Jesus, wink his eye, and say, “Come Again?”
And our Lord would respond, “Most assuredly.”
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