THURSDAY OF THE SIXTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Mark 8:27-33) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” (Mk 8:33)

FIRST READING - Genesis 9:1-13

A reading from the Book of Genesis

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 one 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.”

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Mark 8:27-33

From the Gospel according to Mark

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.”

THURSDAY OF THE SIXTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - Gospel (Mark 8:27-33)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

In today's Word of God, Jesus asked the disciples about His identity, and Peter answered on behalf of the disciples, '"You are the Christ."'

But when Jesus foretold that He would suffer greatly, be condemned by the scribes and Pharisees, and be rejected, killed, and rise after three days, then Peter hindered His path. Jesus rebuked Peter, saying, '"Get behind me, Satan."', for you do not have in mind the things of God, but only the things of men." Jesus knew that Peter and the disciples had a different direction and thought about Jesus, that is: because He performed many miracles and His teachings were more authoritative than all the scribes, lawyers, and Pharisees. The disciples wanted to make Him king because they thought they would attain glory, honor, and benefits of the world when following Him.

Jesus knew that the hearts and thoughts of His disciples were being tempted by the devil, so He told them that His path was to suffer and die, not to sit on a throne to be honored and praised by everyone in this world. Peter immediately spoke up to rebuke Jesus, saying that the path He was taking was wrong. This showed Peter's arrogance, as he thought he knew better than his Master and that he was on the right path, but this was just human thinking.

Because He loved His disciples and loved Peter, and because they were going down the wrong path, God rebuked Peter as Satan. God said the purpose of Jesus' coming to the world was to save humanity, to defeat Satan through humility, self-abasement, sacrifice, and death—that is God's plan.

Although God never intended to bring suffering, humiliation, and death to humankind, when humanity fell into the sin of disobeying God, God Himself left His glorious throne and came into the world and walked that path. In doing so, He also wants His children to follow Him closely. And because it is the price of God's redeeming blood that has redeemed all the suffering, humiliation, and death of mankind.

Thus, the path of ultimate humility is the path of Love—the path that goes straight into Satan's lair to win back those who are lost to the One who is Love.

As stated in the book of the prophet Isaiah, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways." Which means that humans cannot fully understand the ways of God.

Therefore, God taught His disciples as well as people today: when following Jesus, we must follow His example, which is to live a life of humility—just as Jesus abandoned the glory and honor of God, and came to earth to take on a human form to save and free humanity from the control and imprisonment of Satan.

He accepted humiliation and ingratitude from the very humans that He created, healed, and exorcised.

While on the Cross, people asked to spare Barabbas and crucify Him; He accepted the treatment worse than that of a murderer.

Today's Word of God calls on everyone to:

-Look up to the cross of Jesus to learn the lesson of humility, acceptance of sacrifice, carrying the cross, and being crucified with Him.

-Abandon our weakness, and sinful self to completely obey God, just as Jesus once obeyed God the Father in all things.

Thanks be to God. Amen.