No Man Cometh to the Father, but by Me

Gospel Reflection for September 15, 2024 - Mark 8:27-35

And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi. And in the way, he asked his disciples, saying to them: Whom do men say that I am?

Who answered him, saying: John the Baptist; but some Elias, and others as one of the prophets.

Then he saith to them: But whom do you say that I am? Peter answering said to him: Thou art the Christ.

And he strictly charged them that they should not tell any man of him.

And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the ancients and by the high priests, and the scribes, and be killed: and after three days rise again.

And he spoke the word openly. And Peter taking him, began to rebuke him.

Who turning about and seeing his disciples, threatened Peter, saying: Go behind me, Satan, because thou savorest not the things that are of God, but that are of men.

And calling the multitude together with his disciples, he said to them: If any man will follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel, shall save it. (Mark 8:27-35 DRA)

After hearing the Gospel reading for today, one understandable reaction might be: why was Jesus so mean to St. Peter? Wasn’t he just expressing concern for his friend, whom he had followed as a disciple for some time now and had come to believe in as the Messiah and the Son of God, as the first verses in this passage indicate? Calling someone Satan because he doesn’t want his friend to be tortured and crucified doesn’t seem very fair.

But this legitimate reaction raises an important question: why exactly did Our Lord respond so harshly to Peter? And what did He mean by saying that the first pope “savorest not the things that are of God, but that are of men”? While the reading from Isaias is a clear and poignant prophecy which Christ would fulfill in His Passion, the Epistle from St. James gives a more direct answer to this question. Peter rebuked Jesus from his emotions, acting out of fear, sorrow and confusion. He wanted to avoid these painful feelings, to continue in the comfort of walking with Christ, of having the hopes of his faith and the faith of Israel fulfilled in the God-man, whose miracles and healings fulfilled men’s hope in the inevitable victory of right over wrong, that Satan’s dominion over the Earth is only temporary and that the time of salvation is finally at hand. Peter wanted Heaven on Earth, and he wanted it now.

Peter had great faith, as his proclamation of Jesus as the Christ profoundly demonstrates. But what he wanted to avoid was works. As his eventual threefold denial of Christ shows, Peter was unwilling to do as Christ commanded here, to take up his cross, deny himself and follow Christ even into the worst persecutions. Peter was certainly a virtuous man, holy in the Law and righteous, but the acts of charity given by St. James, and the self-denial demanded by Our Lord, were at this time beyond him. It would ultimately require the grace of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost to enable this new law of love to work in him, to engender the life of sainthood chronicled in the Acts of the Apostles which culminated in his blessed martyrdom.

Peter’s temptation is one that is familiar to all Christians, including those confirmed in the Holy Ghost by the Church. Even later in his life, Peter continued to struggle with this unwillingness to face the social rejection and persecution required of him as a disciple of Christ, which is why St. Paul “withstood him to the face” when Peter hypocritically ate with Gentiles, then refused to do so when certain Jewish Christians were around. (Gal 2:11-12) In this way, he resisted not only the works listed by James, what are traditionally called the corporal works of mercy, but also the spiritual works of mercy - instructing the ignorant, counselling the doubtful, correcting sinners, patiently bearing wrongs, forgiving offenses, comforting the afflicted and praying for the living and the dead. These often bring about more public scorn and ridicule than corporal works, since people in sin tend to resist correction more than the afflicted resist aid.

It is possible for a Christian to have great faith but perform no good works, in which case his faith is dead, as James taught. It is also possible for someone, Christian or not, to perform good works, yet have no faith, in which case his works are dead. This is so because we are not saved by good works alone, or by faith alone, but through “faith that worketh by charity.” (Gal 5:6) But this faith is not generic or anonymous – it is faith in Christ, who said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father, but by me.” (Jn 14:6) There is only one path up the mountain to God, and that path is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, whose grace is necessary for salvation.

This path is not easy; by following Christ, we pledge ourselves against Satan, who will use all the powers at his disposal, including our passions and intellect which are disordered and darkened by sin, the provocations, confusions and persecutions of others, and the allure and glamour of worldly pleasures to lead us onto the road to perdition. As Christians, we have a target on our backs, aimed at by Satan and his demonic and human servants, among which are numbered many within the Church. We must put on the armour of God (Eph 6:10-18) and persevere valiantly in the Way of the Cross, aided by the prayers of the saints and most of all by the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Stella Maris guiding the Church, the Barque of St. Peter, to the haven of Heaven.

By watering down the Gospel, by accommodating the liberalism, tolerance of evil and religious indifferentism of the modern world, by excusing and blessing people’s sins, we are serving Satan, even if, like Peter, it might feel as though we are protecting Our Lord or our fellow man from harm. While all Christians are bound by this, to believe all that Christ teaches, to follow Him faithfully and to render good fruit in charity, those in the Church who like Peter are given a special role of leadership and public visibility will be held accountable even more, since “unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required: and to whom they have committed much, of him they will demand the more.” (Lk 1248) Therefore let us pray for the pope, the bishops and the clergy, as well as all Catholics whose voices are widely heard, that they may be in the world, but not of the world. (Jn 17:14)

(Cover image source: By © Paul M.R. Maeyaert; pmrmaeyaert@gmail.com - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=100276467)