18th Week in Ordinary Time (B) : Thursday 8th August 2024

The drama in Caesarea Philippi with Jesus’ reprimand of Peter cautions us – “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do”. Imagine how shocked Peter was to be rebuked soon after he was praised for acknowledging Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God. And yet, it was not about feeling but the truth that he was led to this realisation through the power of the Father who revealed this to him. It was not something which he worked out through his own efforts, but a gift given freely by God. Eventually, our human thinking will reach its greatest limit. Beyond that, we have to allow God to take reign, it is His sublime prerogative to integrate what we fail to bridge.

The sudden twist of drama in the kingly pagan place of Caesarea demonstrates how vulnerable the disciples can be when confronted with hardship and death. The road to Jerusalem is never rosy. While there is much about God and His ways which we do not comprehend, the clarity and force of His enduring love for all of us stands out. From the days of the Old Testament when God longed to place His law and write it upon the hearts of the Israelites, He continues to do so today. And so, to Jesus we pray.

Lord Jesus, let us not waiver in following You in the face of imminent tribulations, grant us steady hearts and a spirit of humility and contrition.