Learning to deny oneself to serve the Lord

Our Gospel Reading today is about Peter’s confession about our Lord Jesus Christ. This is found in Mark 8:27-35. This story is almost exactly the same in Matt.16th, my favorite biblical passage.

“Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 They said I reply, “John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said to him in reply, “You are the Messiah.” 30 Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him. 31 He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. 32 He spoke this openly.

Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 At this he turned around and looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me Satan. You’re thinking not as God does, but as human beings do. 34 He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.”

Notice that our Lord Jesus Christ mentions the cross, which I’m sure puzzled his disciples because they knew that the cross was used by their Roman oppressors as a cruel means of execution to show to the people in the lands they have conquered what they would do to those who question Rome. Little did they know that Jesus would be crucified on the cross!

Of course, in hindsight, thanks to the Holy Bible we already know what the Holy Cross represents. But the message of our Lord is crystal clear “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.”

Indeed, the price for Christian discipleship is to deny oneself and as we learned from the story of our Lord Jesus about the rich young man, who asked him, “What else must I do to gain eternal life?” The Lord responded with a simple, “Sell your belongings and give them to the poor and come after me.” But as we know, the rich young man left our Lord dejected as he was still very much attached to his material things.

This brings me to mind that whenever you go shopping, let’s say for a watch and you got yourself a treat by buying a nice expensive watch. Did you ever think for a moment who would get your watch in case you suddenly left this earth? I’m sure that this thought never even entered your mind when you got the watch. But like it or not, a nice watch like a Rolex would more often than not, last longer than you. But getting attached to your watch won’t do you any good as when you kick that proverbial bucket, you can’t even bring your watch with you! The key word to learn here is detachment!

This particular passage is also a very important lesson to all the seminarians today who are learning to become the priests of tomorrow. How many times I have encountered former priests who complain often quite bitterly that priests should be allowed by the Vatican to marry, as it is allowed in other Christian sects or denominations. But surely they were taught in our seminaries about their having to deny themselves and to take up their cross. Denying means, they can’t take a wife and there’s no if’s or but’s on this!

Let’s backtrack a little to the previous sentence, where after Peter’s telling our Lord Jesus that he is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, Jesus tells them his little secret… that “the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days.” Suddenly, this man whom they were all following to perhaps conquer Rome was going to die? He didn’t even care to listen that our Lord predicted that he would rise again in three days!

So Peter as we read in Matthew 16th, “God Forbid that this would happen to you! In reply, our Lord Jesus rebuked Peter saying, Get behind me Satan! You’re thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” Wow! The man who was given the keys of the kingdom of heaven and be the rock where Christ would build his church was suddenly called Satan by Jesus? To have a clear understanding of what went on in that conversation; Satan means… one who opposes! Jesus called Peter Satan because he opposed God’s plan for the salvation of mankind!

While Peter may have been given the gift of knowing Our Lord Jesus as the Messiah, it is apparent that he still did not comprehend God’s salvific plan… for our Lord Jesus Christ to be the ultimate sacrifice for the remission of our sins. Thus he would have to die so we can all live in a life eternal which is what God really wants for his own creation.

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