HOMILY OF 22ND SUNDAY OF THE ORDINARY TIME — YEAR A
HOMILY OF 22ND SUNDAY OF THE ORDINARY TIME — YEAR A
HOMILY THEME: GET BEHIND ME, SATAN!
BY: Fr. Benedict Agbo
Jer 20: 7-9, Ps. 63:2-6, 8-9, Rom 12:1-2, Matt 16:21-27
A. PREAMBLE
It has become a known fact today that history repeats itself. So many people, sometimes unknowingly, retrace the paths of their forefathers and unfortunately repeat the same mistakes.
The events recorded in Scripture are even more relevant because their message is not restricted by time or geography. They continue to speak to every generation.
One statement of Jesus that will remain relevant for every generation is the frightening statement we hear in today’s Gospel:
“Get behind me, Satan!”
What makes the statement particularly disturbing is that Jesus was not addressing a pagan, an occultist or an obvious enemy of religion. He addressed it to Peter, the leader of the apostolic college.
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Only a few moments earlier, Peter had passed the examination of faith brilliantly:
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus had even entrusted the keys of the Kingdom to him.
But immediately afterwards, Peter failed another examination—the examination of discipleship and sacrifice.
He accepted Christ as Messiah but rejected the Cross.
This teaches us a very important spiritual lesson:
Christianity begins with faith, grows with discipline and matures in love.
Remove discipline and sacrifice from Christianity and what remains can easily become a human version of the Christian religion—a religion of comfort, prosperity, popularity and self-interest rather than the religion of the Cross.
The Greek word Satanas carries the idea of an adversary or one who stands in the way. Peter, by attempting to prevent Jesus from embracing the Cross, had temporarily placed himself in opposition to God’s plan.
That is why Jesus says:
“Get behind me!”
In other words:
“Peter, your proper position is behind me. You are the follower, not the leader.”
*B. THE THEOLOGY OF THE CROSS*
Today’s Gospel is actually a continuation of last Sunday’s great confession and commissioning of Peter.
Last Sunday:
“You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church.”
Today:
“Get behind me, Satan!”
What happened?
Peter understood who Jesus was, but he had not yet understood what Jesus had come to do.
He wanted a Messiah without suffering.
He wanted glory without the Cross.
He wanted the crown without Calvary.
But Jesus makes it clear:
“If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
There are therefore three movements in authentic discipleship:
1. MORTIFICATION — “Let him renounce himself.”
The Christian must learn to say no to certain desires, appetites and ambitions.
Not every desire in my heart must be satisfied.
Not everything I can acquire must be acquired.
Not every pleasure must be pursued.
2. CROSSIFICATION — “Let him take up his cross.”
Every genuine Christian vocation involves sacrifice.
There will be situations we cannot simply run away from because they are difficult.
A marriage will have its crosses.
Priesthood will have its crosses.
Religious life will have its crosses.
Parenthood will have its crosses.
Academic life, business, public service and even Christian witnessing will have their crosses.
The presence of a cross does not necessarily mean that God has abandoned us.
Sometimes the cross is precisely where God is forming us.
3. FOLLOWERSHIP — “Let him follow me.”
This is perhaps the greatest lesson Jesus was teaching Peter.
Peter wanted to go ahead of Jesus and tell Him how salvation should be accomplished.
Jesus effectively says:
“Get behind me.”
The Christian is a follower.
We must never be tempted to lead God.
That is one of the greatest disasters in modern Christianity.
Sometimes we have already decided what we want God to do and then come to prayer asking Him to bless our decision.
That is not Christian spirituality.
True prayer says:
“Lord, not my will but yours be done.”
*C. THE THREE READINGS AND THE SPIRITUALITY OF SACRIFICE*
The three readings today speak remarkably well to one another.
Jeremiah in the first reading is a prophet who has discovered the cost of his vocation.
He feels deceived, persecuted and exhausted. Yet he cannot abandon his prophetic mission because God’s Word has become like a fire burning within him.
Paul, in the second reading, gives us the theological interpretation of this kind of life:
“Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.”
And Jesus gives us the practical formula in the Gospel:
“Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me.”
So the message moves progressively:
Jeremiah shows us the suffering of the prophet.
Paul shows us the meaning of self-offering.
Jesus shows us the Cross as the pattern of discipleship.
This is spiritual worship.
Christianity is not merely about coming to church, raising our hands, singing beautiful songs or making verbal declarations of faith.
Our entire life must become an offering to God.
*D. THE ENEMY CALLED PLEASURE*
One of the greatest illusions of modern Christianity is the belief that success can be achieved without suffering.
It is a lie repeated so often that many Christians now accept it as truth.
We are increasingly surrounded by a Christianity that wants:
eating without fasting;
pleasure without discipline;
wealth without sacrifice;
sexual freedom without moral responsibility;
popularity without character;
power without service;
resurrection without the Cross.
But the Gospel does not work that way.
The Christian life is not a flight from every form of suffering.
That is why the popular expression “It is not my portion” can sometimes become spiritually dangerous when it is used to reject every difficulty, sacrifice or responsibility.
Some crosses should be removed through prayer.
But some crosses must be carried faithfully.
Jesus did not pray His Cross away.
He carried it.
And through that Cross came resurrection.
Raniero Cantalamessa captures this beautifully when he describes the Cross as God’s decisive “no” to sin and as something permanently planted in the heart of Christianity.
St Augustine eventually discovered this truth.
He spent years looking for happiness outside God, pursuing the pleasures of the world, until he finally discovered that the human heart remains restless until it rests in God.
The tragedy is that we often seek outside ourselves what God is asking us to discover within—the presence of God.
*E. THE NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE*
This theology of the Cross has serious implications for our society.
Nigeria is suffering from a culture of consumerism without sacrifice, entitlement without responsibility and leadership without service.
We see it in politics.
We see it in education.
We see it in business.
We see it even in religion.
We want the benefits of a good society without accepting the sacrifices necessary to build one.
Our political leaders want the privileges of office but often avoid the sacrifices of genuine service.
Our young people want employment but sometimes lack the patience to acquire the discipline and skills necessary for productive work.
Our educational system suffers when examination malpractice, expo and IMM—ima onye ma mmadu become substitutes for genuine competence.
Even our religious life can become infected by the same mentality when we want miracles without repentance, prosperity without sacrifice and spiritual power without holiness.
THE CROSS AND THE CRISIS OF CHRISTIANITY
There is also a serious challenge facing the Church.
Since the rise of modern secularism and liberalism, many traditional Christian values have increasingly come under pressure.
But the Church must be careful not to replace the Gospel with either uncritical traditionalism or uncritical modernism.
The Gospel must remain the Gospel.
The danger becomes greater when Church leaders themselves become confused about the identity of Christianity.
We must be able to distinguish legitimate theological development from the abandonment of essential Christian teaching.
The massive movement of priests and religious across continents can be a great blessing to the universal Church. But it also demands serious formation so that the exchange of cultures and theological perspectives does not become an exchange of confusion.
Our seminaries and formation houses therefore need priests who can combine sound theology, spiritual depth, intellectual competence and fidelity to the Church’s faith.
We must not become Christians who are ashamed of the Cross.
St Paul says:
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”
That is the spiritual revolution we need.
*F. WHAT DOES IT PROFIT A MAN?*
Jesus asks:
“What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life?”
This is one of the most frightening questions in the Gospel.
A man can gain money and lose his soul.
A politician can gain office and lose his integrity.
A priest can gain popularity and lose his priesthood spiritually.
A businessman can gain wealth and lose his family.
A student can gain a certificate and lose his character.
A Christian can gain miracles and lose Christ.
The greatest success is not gaining everything. It is not losing Christ while gaining anything.
*G. CONCLUSION*
Our Igbo people have a very profound proverb:
“Onye buru Chi ya ụzọ, ọ gbaguo onwe ya n’ọsọ.”
Whoever attempts to run ahead of his Chi will only run himself into confusion.
Peter tried to run ahead of Christ.
Jesus brought him back:
“Get behind me!”
There is a beautiful story of a man who wanted to get rid of his shadow. He tried running away from it, but everywhere he went, the shadow followed him.
A wise man finally advised him:
“Stop running. Go and stand under the shadow of a tree.”
He did so, and his own shadow disappeared beneath the greater shadow.
Friends, perhaps this is our spiritual problem.
We spend our lives running away from the Cross, running away from discipline, running away from sacrifice, running away from responsibility.
But there is a better solution:
STOP RUNNING AWAY FROM THE CROSS. STAND UNDER ITS SHADOW.
The Cross of Christ is not our enemy.
It is the road to resurrection.
Let us therefore learn the three lessons of today’s Gospel:
Deny yourself.
Take up your cross.
Follow Christ.
And whenever we are tempted to go ahead of God, may we hear the voice of Jesus:
“GET BEHIND ME!”
May God give us the grace to follow Christ faithfully, carry our crosses courageously and offer our lives as a living sacrifice to God.
Happy Sunday, dear friends!
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