Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time, Year A, February 16, 2017.
1st Reading: Book of Genesis 9:1-13.
God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them: «Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth. Dread fear of you shall come upon all the animals of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon all the creatures that move about on the ground and all the fishes of the sea; into your power they are delivered. Every creature that is alive shall be yours to eat; I give them all to you as I did the green plants. Only flesh with its lifeblood still in it you shall not eat. For your own lifeblood, too, I will demand an accounting: from every animal I will demand it, and from man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life. If anyone sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; For in the image of God has man been made. Be fertile, then, and multiply; abound on earth and subdue it.” God said to Noah and to his sons with him: “See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you: all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals that were with you and came out of the ark. I will establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood; there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth.” God added: “This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you and every living creature with you: I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. The word of the Lord.
Respo Psalm:102(101):16-18.19-21.29.
R/. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.
Holy Gospel: Mark 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 Messiah.” 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.” The gospel of the Lord.
THURSDAY REFLECTIONS:
This passage says that Jesus “began to teach” the Apostles that He would soon suffer greatly, be rejected and killed. This would have been difficult for the Apostles to accept and understand. At first, they would have experienced all the emotions and thoughts that we all go through as we are processing some difficult news. We may start with denial, then become angry, look for a way out, panic, be confused, etc. Going through stages of grief and acceptance are normal and it appears that this is what Peter was experiencing. Out of his interior struggle in coming to an acceptance of what Jesus was starting to reveal to them, Peter tried to put up a block. In Matthew’s account of this story we hear the actual words of Peter, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you” (Mt. 16:22).
Peter’s words were certainly words of concern for Jesus, but it’s important to note that, just because Peter was concerned about Jesus, this doesn’t mean that his words were helpful.As the story continues, Jesus rebukes Peter sternly, but it’s done out of love for Peter to help rid him of his fear and confusion. It’s understandable that Peter is fearful of the prediction of the Cross. It’s understandable when any one of us experiences fear in the face of some grave cross or hardship. The key here is to know that Jesus does not want us to sit in fear. He does not want us to run from the crosses we are given based on our human weakness. Instead, He wants us to turn to Him and try to think as He thinks, to act as He acts, and to face our hardships as He did by embracing His Cross.
Pray with me: Lord, I know that You courageously and fearlessly faced the holy sacrifice of Your glorious Cross. As I am invited to follow in Your footsteps, I find that fear can overwhelm me as it did Peter. Please strengthen me in those times and give me the grace I need to say “Yes” to You no matter what You ask. Jesus, I trust in You that You alone will heal our sick brethren and set them free. May the souls of our faithful departed brethren rest in perfect peace, amen.
Sourced by Wiezman Eleanya