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Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid,
Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” He 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.”
Matthew 16:22–23
What a shocking statement this must have been that was spoken by
Jesus to Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” Jesus said. In the
paragraph before this, Peter professed that Jesus was “the Christ,
the Son of the living God.” Jesus in turn told Peter that he was
Petros and on this petra He would build His Church.
Petros is the Greek word for a movable rock and petra
was an immovable solid rock foundation. Thus, Peter was told that
he would be the stone, set upon a solid foundation, by which Jesus
would build His Church. Jesus even went on to promise Peter that he
would receive the keys to the Kingdom and that whatever he bound on
earth would be bound in Heaven. And then, one paragraph later,
Jesus rebukes Peter for thinking “not as God” but as a human
being.
Jesus rebuked Peter because Peter could not accept Jesus’ teaching
about His coming passion and death. Jesus told Peter and the other
disciples that He would soon suffer greatly, be rejected by the
chief priest, the scribes and the elders, be killed and then rise
on the third day. So Peter went from a profound proclamation of
faith, to fear and a rejection of the divine plan of salvation. And
for that reason, Jesus went from entrusting much authority to Peter
to rebuking him for his weakness and fear.
Fear is often a paralyzing passion. Saint Thomas Aquinas explains
that the passion of fear comes from a perceived future evil. Sorrow
is the normal reaction to a present suffering such as the death of
a loved one. But when the perceived suffering, or apparent evil, is
something that has not yet come, then we often react with fear.
When that fear is caused by something exterior and out of our
control, it tempts us to feel shock, a sense of being overwhelmed
and anxiety. In the case of Peter, the thought of Jesus suffering
greatly, and being killed, was more than he was able to accept. So
Peter says, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to
you.”
Jesus’ rebuke of Peter was an act of true love. It was a way of
shaking him free from the paralysis of fear. Jesus wanted Peter to
think clearly and to face this future suffering with courage,
acceptance, hope and faith. Courage provides strength. Acceptance
cures anxiety. Hope produces joy. And faith is the remedy for all
fear. These and other similar virtues were necessary if Peter and
the other disciples were going to be able to endure the suffering
and passion of Jesus. They needed to know that this perceived evil
was going to be transformed by the Father in Heaven and used for
the greatest good the world had ever known. They needed to know
that Jesus “must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly…” It was the
Father’s will. And because it was the Father’s will, the greatest
good would come from the greatest evil because of God’s almighty
power.
Reflect, today, upon that which causes you the most fear and
anxiety in your life. When you look to the future, what is it that
paralyzes you or at least tempts you to fear and worry? The truth
is that any evil or suffering that you foresee has the potential to
bring forth the greatest good in your life. Your natural human mind
cannot discern this. We must strive to think as God, not as humans,
as Jesus says. Try to look at anything that causes you anxiety
through the eyes of God alone. Trust that, in faith, all can be
used by God for good. Do not doubt but believe and God will begin
to bestow upon you the many virtues you need to move forward with
peace, courage and confidence.
My suffering Lord, You faced the evil You endured with the
utmost courage and love. You never gave in to fear but pressed on,
fulfilling the Father’s will. Give me the grace I need to share in
Your strength so as to overcome all that tempts me to fear. I love
You, my Lord. May I rely upon You for all things. Jesus, I trust in
You.
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