Where were you on that awful day? Looking around here in church, I see some of you were not even born yet or too young to realize what was happening but most of us will always remember exactly where we were. It was a beautiful fall day 20 years ago yesterday, just like this morning. I was about to go to church to celebrate the 9:00am Mass at the parish where I was stationed at that time when a friend called me to let me know that a plane had flown into one of the Twin Towers in New York City. I had visited these handsome towers many times and I knew that there was a small airport just up the Hudson River from them so I thought that maybe a small plane had been blown off its course to that airport and had crashed into the tower. After Mass, however, I returned to the rectory and, with the rest of the parish staff, watched on television – with shock, amazement and horror – all that would unfold that morning: a second plane flying into the other tower and both towers collapsing, the plane flying into the Pentagon and yet another plane crashing to the ground outside of Shanksville. Some 3,000 people were killed as our country found itself under attack from a terrorist group; we were to learn later that it was Al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden. In the years that followed, our nation would come to recognize the evil that this man wanted to visit upon our country and it took almost ten years but, finally, in 2011, our special forces killed him in his compound in Abbottabad. Although he was no longer a threat to us, unfortunately, we all know that evil has not been removed from our midst. The devil, Satan, is still very active in the world and each of us must battle daily to overcome his power within us and around us.
This morning’s gospel gives us a clear teaching on how Jesus, who is all good, faced evil. He had been sent to overcome the power of the devil and he would do so, according to God’s will. But, when he began to explain that to his disciples we see that they were not all ready or willing to do the same. In today’s Gospel passage, we hear that Peter could not accept the fate Jesus foretold for himself. In fact, as we heard a moment ago, Peter rebuked Jesus when Jesus predicted he would suffer and die.
And, notice how Jesus responds; he rebukes Peter and calls him Satan. That may sound pretty harsh, especially considering that Peter had just declared his faith in Jesus. You will notice that when Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter had answered without hesitation: “You are the Christ,” that is, the Messiah, the Anointed One of God. But, despite Peter’s confession of faith, he still demonstrated a lack of understanding of what was happening around him. He wanted to stop God’s plan of salvation that was in motion, thinking that he knew a better way. That sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Don’t we sometimes tell God what we think he should do rather than listening carefully to God’s will for us and humbly submitting to it?
Luckily for Peter – and for all of us – perfection is not a qualification required for discipleship, and God is patient with us in our blindness and our willfulness. So, what are the necessary qualifications? We need, every day, to grow in our faith in Jesus and be willing to follow his teachings, example and commands. And, as the crucifix behind me reminds us all so powerfully, this entails denying ourselves, taking up our crosses, and losing our lives for the sake of Jesus and the Gospel he preached. These are the works without which our faith is dead, as we hear so clearly in today’s first reading.
I think we can all admit that, like Peter, we are not perfect disciples, and God knows this. Though we have faith, sometimes we think first of what we want – what feels good and safe – rather than thinking of what God wants of us. But if we go our own way rather than God’s, we risk being led astray by the concerns of this world and its earthly values. But, as Jesus teaches so clearly, his kingdom is not of this world. This world will end but his kingdom endures forever. So, even if we are unsure of exactly what God is asking of us, or if it seems risky and uncertain, God invites us to trust in him. If we just get behind Jesus, he will guide us. Jesus will teach us what to do and how to follow him.
God is near, upholding us. He is our help, present to us in his Word and in the Eucharist. Nourished by these, we can, like the prophet Isaiah whom we heard in today’s first reading, set our faces like flint and not turn back, even as we confront the devil and his evil in the world. The Lord will save us as we follow him in faith.
And, Jesus is truly the Christ, the anointed Son of God sent by the Father to lead us all back to him. The devil will always be with us in this world and it’s his job to tempt us to follow him. But, his power has been overcome by Jesus and no longer enslaves those who follow Jesus. Jesus has called us to follow him, carrying our daily crosses – dying to ourselves, loving one another as he loves us, leading others to him. And, as we do this, we are brought to the new life he has offered us through his own death and resurrection. Let us pray daily for God’s help to be his faithful followers for he alone can lead us through the struggles of this world to the eternal joy in heaven.