Apostles Bartholemew, Philip, Andrew, and Peter
Fresco from the Monsastery of St. Apollo at Bawit, Egypt
Coptic Museum of Cairo
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Apostles Bartholemew, Philip, Andrew, and Peter |
Then Jesus began to teach them
that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering,
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes.
and be killed,
and after three days rise again.
He said all this quite openly.
And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
But turning and looking at his disciples,
he rebuked Peter and said,
‘Get behind me, Satan!
For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.’
He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them,
‘If any want to become my followers,
let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
For those who want to save their life will lose it,
and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.
For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?
Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?
Those who are ashamed of me and of my words
of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed
when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’
(Mark 8:31-38)
Andrew
My brother is Simon. You know him as Peter but I have always called him Simon. This “Peter” business is hard to get used to so forgive me if I call my brother by the name our father and mother gave him. Simon is a great man and a wonderful brother but he is not without his faults. He doesn’t always know, for instance, when to hold his tongue. He jumps to conclusions and then has a hard time stepping back from them. He has an enthusiastic faith and I envy his daring but sometimes I wish he would stop and think before he opens his mouth.
I am the more reserved brother, a quieter seeker of truth. I used to be a disciple of John the Baptist but when John himself called Jesus the “Lamb of God”, I had to know more. I followed him and listened. And when I heard Jesus speak I sensed he was the one we’d been looking for. I couldn’t wait to tell my brother, Simon. Later, when Jesus asked us both to drop our fishing nets and follow, we did not hesitate. It was as if the very voice of God spoke to us that day.
Although I was the one first called to follow, Jesus has a special place in his heart for my brother. I know that. Everyone can see it. But this is no surprise. Simon has always been the bigger fish in the family. I am content to stand a little more in the background where one may observe and ponder and not get into so much trouble. I know Jesus loves me too. I’ve had my share of private conversations with him and when Jesus takes just a few of us with him, it is often Simon and me, as well as James and John, two other brothers in our group of disciples. Jesus is like family to us. In fact, he spends time at our home in Bethsaida on the beautiful shores of the sea of Galilee. Once when he was visiting, he healed Simon’s mother-in-law of a terrible fever. As I say, he is part of our family and we have become part of his.
But back to the story. Back to what happened today. Do you know how, in every group of students, there is always one who is first to answer any question the teacher asks? That is Simon. And do you know how, in every group of friends, there is one who thinks out loud? That, too, is Simon. I admire his fearlessness but it does cause him to trip over his own spirit from time to time. That is what happened today.
Today. It was a tough day. We would, everyone of us, prefer to hear joyful news and be asked to accomplish easy tasks. Is this not true? But this life is not all joy and the tasks set before us are sometimes awful. You know this is true. Today was not a day for talk of angels. It was not a day for loaves and fishes too many to count. And it was not a day of healing. Today Jesus spoke of death. He told us quite openly that great suffering is in store. He informed us that the elders and the chief priests and the scribes had rejected him and were going to kill him.
We were all greatly troubled by what Jesus revealed. But Simon? Well, Simon refused believe it and would not listen to it. He took Jesus aside and told him it wasn’t true. It wouldn’t happen. Simon actually scolded Jesus. The glory of God is unfolding, Simon told Jesus. And then Simon, the student, instructed Jesus, the rabbi, the teacher, not to speak of suffering and death!
I understand how upset Simon was. We all want this to turn out well. We all want the Scribes and the Pharisees to recognize Jesus, to see that God is at work here in awesome ways, in miraculous ways. If it were up to us Jesus would have a crown on his head. But our will and the will of God are not always the same. You must know this. We can hope for certain outcomes but only God decides if a hope will bear fruit. We can pray all we like for a good catch. But what shows up in our nets is in the hands of God.
Jesus was perfectly honest with us today. This is not going to happen as we’d hoped. Jesus is traveling down a road that will lead to suffering and death. It is sad and troubling to think that the one John called the Lamb of God, this great healer, this man who helps us to see the face of God, has been rejected by the very men who are supposed to be our religious leaders.
Is this God’s will? I don’t know. Why would God choose such a path? Then again, why has God allowed my people to suffer so long? Simon may pretend to have the answers. I cannot pretend to have many. I can only pray as Jesus does “Your will be done, your will.” Simon has certain ideas, certain conclusions set in his mind and so he couldn’t come to grips with what Jesus set before us today. Although every one of us will die, not one of us wants to contemplate death. Although every one of us will face suffering of some kind not one of us wants to think about it. We would rather pretend that life is supposed to be all bliss, all joy, all green pastures and still waters. But if we convince ourselves that this is what life is really supposed to be all the time then we will, of course, be shocked when suffering comes and when death is approaches.
Jesus reminded us today that everyone faces suffering and death - even the Lamb of God but that God will be with us even as we walk through the darkest valley. Simon should have kept his mouth shut. He should have listened to Jesus and befriended him. Instead, he preached to Jesus. When this happened, Jesus was outraged. He bellowed, “Get behind me, Satan.” He told Simon that he should stop thinking about common human things and start thinking about divine things. Then he turned to all of us and said, “If you want to come after me, you should deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow me!” “Remember,” he said, “by trying to save your own life, you’re going to lose it, but by losing your life for the sake of the good news you’re going to save it.”
I’ll be honest with you. I’m not sure what that means altogether but I know it’s about giving your life to something bigger than yourself. John the Baptist, for example, could have protected his own life. He could have walked away from telling the truth so boldly. But his life was devoted to the righteousness of God and for this he has been beheaded. Now according to what Jesus said, John has saved his life by losing it. And another way to look at it is this: If John had tried to save his life by walking away or by watering down his message, he would have lost his real life. I can understand that much.
And there’s something else. There is something I think Simon missed today and when he calms down, we will talk about it. As I said, Jesus told us today that he will undergo much suffering and rejection and be killed. But he also told us he will rise again. I don’t know exactly what that means either. But I’m sure if there is any good news in all of the words that were exchanged today, this is it. And I feel certain that, in the weeks ahead, I will come to understand. Simon will come to understand. You too will come to understand. And the will of God will become clear. To God be the glory.
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You are welcome to use these narratives for worship or study but please give the author, Sarah M. Foulger, credit for the writing - and consider making a contribution to Seasons of Change, a non-profit mental health agency in Edgecomb, Maine. Send contributions of any amount to Seasons of Change/ P.O. Box 277/Edgecomb, Maine 04556.
Sarah M. Foulger may be contacted at: sarahfoulger@gmail.com