Tears And Heartbreak

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.  Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you."  He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.  You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

We all may have a different reaction to this part of today’s Gospel.   Calling Peter “Satan” seems a bit too harsh, for example.   My interpretation is one that occurred to me when dealing with death – not my own but that of all the many deaths with which I have had to deal be they death of family members or friends. 

Death is extremely hard to accept despite our belief or hope in an afterlife.   Each of us will have to deal with our passing and many of us are still dealing with the deaths of those we have lost but still long for. 

Some of us are suffering now, and our death faces us.  Those we love and who love us might say to us: “God forbid!  No such thing will ever happen to you.   You cannot die!”   But we will, and to accept our coming death becomes so very hard when we hear the pleading, “Do not die!  Do not leave me!”  

“Get behind me Satan!” are words that will never cross our lips.   But, eventually, we all will have to say to those we will leave behind, “Please let me go.   Help me leave this world with peace and expectation for a new life I cannot yet understand.   Please don’t be an obstacle to me.   I’m trying to think as God does, not as human beings do.”   Such is the moment and challenge we all will face with tears and heartbreak.

Deacon David Pierce