16 February, 2023 | Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

 Gospel Mk 8:27-33

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?”

They said in reply,

“John the Baptist, others Elijah,

still others one of the prophets.”

And he asked them,

“But who do you say that I am?”

Peter said to him in reply,

“You are the Christ.”

 

Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.

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.

He spoke this openly.

Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,

rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan.

You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” 

Reflection: 

Jesus longs for us to see him and come close to him.  A desire to come close to Jesus is a sign of grace already at work within us. By spending so much time with Jesus, Peter's eyes were opened to the truth of who Jesus is. And still, there is much he doesn't see. We are accepted and loved by Jesus just as we are and also invited to go deeper to set our hearts and minds on divine things. One thing that is clear from the Gospel account is that the disciples were both exhilarated and then shortly afterwards, troubled by the whole episode. Jesus began to tell them what was going to happen to Himself as Messiah. Once again it was Peter who articulated what the others were probably thinking. Jesus wasted no time in putting him in his place.

Activity: 

Come to Jesus today with both your insights and with your blindness. Name your desire to God, not because God doesn’t know it already, but so that you can recognize the gift God is offering you.

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