How it must have pained Jesus to reveal to his closest friends that he was leading them on a path that was going to bring suffering and rejection. Ultimately, it would bring even death.*
We want our friends not to worry, not to dread what lies ahead, and yet we also want to be able to be honest, fully known and accepted. We want to come out of hiding and break down the walls between us and let ourselves be seen. When being seen causes pain, what then?
Peter rebukes Jesus for what he is saying, that he will suffer and die, and like a brother putting him in a head lock, Jesus rebukes him right back. “Don’t say things like that,” Peter says, revealing his own fear and love. “Peter, you are not seeing the way God sees,” Jesus responds.
How hard it is really hear each other, yet how much greater is the pain of not being heard. Peter’s pain comes from not being able to listen all the way. He hears nothing after the words “suffer and be killed.” So afraid is he of facing the pain that he misses the rest of the story. He misses the rising again. The soul of what matters, the really good Good News, is there for us, if we are able to listen to the whole story.
–Kayla McClurg, Passage by Passage, Year B
- What do I struggle to hear Jesus say?
- Have I ever felt ‘rebuked’ by God?
- When do I find it hard to listen all the way?
