A flight attendant was moving down the aisle, serving meals to the passengers. “Would you like dinner?” she inquired. One passenger asked, “What are my choices?” The flight attendant replied, “Yes or no.”
The readings today also allude to choices, reminding us that our lives are impacted by the choices we make. Last week, Peter called Jesus the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. In turn, Jesus called him rock. “You are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church.” Now Peter doesn’t like what he is hearing. Popular Jewish piety believed that the Messiah would bring instant glory to Israel in terms of military success, wealth and prosperity. Peter envisioned Jesus becoming a military leader, someone who would liberate their native land from the Romans so he rebukes Jesus for allowing this vision to be suppressed.
In turn, Jesus compares Peter to a stumbling block. “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are not thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” With this snappy comeback, perhaps Jesus is recalling the third temptation in the desert where the devil had promised him all the kingdoms of the world if he would bow down and worship him.
Instead of giving in to Peter’s dream, Jesus conforms to the will of his Father. As tempting as the easy and broad way of Satan would have been to achieve momentary glory, Jesus knows his mission of taking up the cross would be worth the cost. “What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” he asked Peter.
Jeremiah too struggled with the choice to follow God’s will. He did not conform to the thinking of his age and for this, he was ridiculed. “All the day I am an object of laughter; everyone mocks me.” Jeremiah is tempted to keep quiet but then he realizes that the truth cannot be ignored.
Paul advises his listeners, “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind so that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good, and pleasing and perfect.” This can only be done through prayer. For him, a life lived according to God’s will is the most basic form of worship there is. Yet how often do we consider his advice when we are confronted by peer pressure or when we give advice to someone else? Sometimes we tell people what we think they want to hear instead of honestly sharing our own convictions. Politicians are a prime example of this tendency.
Jeremiah, Paul, Peter, and Jesus all found themselves standing at crossroads in which they had to decide which way to go: the way of their times or the timeless way of God. They all knew that ultimately the way of God would be the most satisfying yet also the more costly choice to make.
Since that fateful day in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve ate of the tree of knowledge, humanity has often tried to redefine morality to its liking. What God deems immoral, many people consider quite acceptable, such as abortion, euthanasia, pornography, adultery or fornication. The human perspective alone often gets things wrong; that is why Jesus told Peter to reject the world’s way of life and live instead by God’s way.
Whose standards are we using for making the choices either we make or suggest that others make in everyday life? Do we even consider God’s will whenever a moral decision or value judgment has to be made? As Peter discovered, the way we frame our lives, not only our life of faith, but also our everyday life affects the perspective within which we see things.
No matter how convinced we may be that a certain act is not wrong, if that choice is a sin in the sight of God, problems are bound to arise and we or someone else will be hurt sooner or later. We may mean well by what we say, but our worldly advice could prompt others to say to us, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me! That isn’t how God thinks!”
In last week’s Gospel, Jesus posed the question to his disciples, “Who do you say I am?” This time, imagine Jesus standing here and asking, “Who do you think you are?” Like Adam and Eve and countless others since them, do we think we know what is best for us? Or are we willing to ignore the trends of the times and the pressure of our peers and follow instead the will of God who has known all along what is best for us?
Jesus promises us that if we pick up the cross and follow him, he will lead us to life; not only everlasting life in the next world but the fullness of life in this world as well, something that selfishness can never provide. Years ago, I ran across a poem by an anonymous poet that sums up this point well:
I ask God for strength that I might achieve.
I ask for health, that I might do greater things;
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy;
I was given poverty, that I might be wise…
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men;
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life;
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing I asked for, but everything I hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all men most richly blessed.”
That poem was found in the pocket of a dead confederate soldier so its language may seem out-dated, but its message, along with today’s readings, remains timeless.