We hear the amazing two prong response of Jesus to Peter in the Gospel. First, it’s Peter’s profession of faith in Jesus, “You are the Christ”. Then comes the whammy, “Get behind me Satan.” We need to learn a lot about ourselves as we learn about Peter. A quote from the classic Catholic author, Frank Sheed can shed some light on this dualism, this back-and-forth quality of our lives. 

“Never think that the way of man is prosaic, (that is simple, or one dimensional). We are a mixture of matter and spirit, and in this we resemble no other creature on earth. We are the only beings who die and do not stay dead: it seems an odd way to our goal that as the last stage on the way to it, all of us, saint and sinner, should fall apart. We are the only beings with an everlasting destiny who have not reached their “final state”. By comparison there is something cozy and settled about angels, for they are simply either good or bad. Men are the only beings whose destiny is uncertain... We are the only creatures who can choose what side we want to be on for our final destiny. We are the only beings left who can either choose or refuse God.” 

Jesus of course knew all about heaven, hell and purgatory. Peter did not. Jesus knew our life in this world required lots of choices. But for the most part, all the important choices we make fall under the two prongs of today’s gospel. First, we must make a choice that we accept, we believe, we adore Christ as the living God. All our catechism, all our doctrines and creedal beliefs flow from this first choice. But there is a second choice that flows from this first. It involves the taking up of our particular cross. Rejecting the cross in this world snuffs out our commitment to the first choice. How could Peter have known all this? How is it that we choose to ignore this “odd mixture of life”, as Frank Sheed calls it? For me, the answer lies in the fact that we do not think enough about heaven, hell and purgatory. We may know what they mean. We may even accept them as realities. But we don’t really consider them as our ultimate destiny very often. And here is where the second reading sheds light on the problems with the easier spiritual road of Martin Luther and all the “reformers”. St James reminds us, “faith of itself, if it does not have works is dead.” 

Pray every day that God will show you the reward for carrying your cross. Pray our society will correct our most grievous errors. I saw a billboard the other day: “Welcome to Chicago, where abortion is healthcare”. Can’t you hear Jesus responding, “Chicago, get behind me Satan”?