Get behind me Satan.....

It's pretty awkward when you are witness to someone else being called out.  The more public the admonishment, the more awkward bystanders are liable to feel.

So I'd expect most folks are uncomfortable with the episode between Jesus and Peter along the way from Bethlehem to Calvary.  Peter is caught on the wrong side of God's plan for the world, and his well intentioned efforts to encourage Jesus to take up his Messiahship turns nasty when Jesus turns to Peter and says, "Get behind me Satan."  Whoa.  Not good.  Not a message I would like sent my direction.

This entire episode is challenging....and should ever remain so for us people of faith.  Peter is confronted with the divine plan for the pouring out of Jesus, the sacrifice of his life for the sake of the world, and Peter is not at all happy.  This is not the way he expected it to go.

Because, somewhere deep within the very humanness of each of us, we don't want to hear the message that there is no easy path in this life.  We seek joy, happiness, contentment and do our very best to stay ahead of the curse of suffering.  Somehow, no matter what we see around us, nor what we are taught by God's Word in Jesus, we expect that our trust in Jesus will reward us.  Our lives will even out; the suffering will be minimized.

So, although we recognize that Jesus went to the cross, we want only the eternal benefits of his sacrifice without the day to day living out of a cross shaped life. When our lives are shaped by the cross, then we walk right into the suffering of this world:  ours and others.  With eyes wide open, with hearts trembling, we face down the darkness that threatens to drain us of our faith.  We embrace the 'now' even when the 'now' is nothing but suffering.

But we do it knowing that there is no suffering the Jesus doesn't know and no sufferer whom Jesus doesn't love.  We face the brokenness of this world knowing that Jesus promises to carry us into a life unimaginable, a life victorious over death of every kind. We are able to walk into the darkness because we walk with Jesus and he will bring life into the depths of hell.  This is Jesus' promise; this, and this alone is our hope.

This is  the 'kingdom of God' that Jesus spoke of so frequently - a new way of living that is built on community, caring for one another in the reality of living each day.  Trusting in Jesus allows us to leave behind the fear that leads us  to greed and oppression.  Trusting in Jesus sets us free - not from the suffering which is everyone's portion in life, but from the fear that evil will overcome us and we will be destroyed.  We fear the cross.  Jesus will walk with us even there.  Jesus will walk with us into a new way of living.

That life begins today.  Trusting in Jesus sets us free - not down the road after we've struggled and fought our way to some prize in this world.  Trusting in Jesus sets us free today - today!

This is the story we tell, we live and we share.  Know someone who needs Jesus?  Walk with them and show them the way, just like Jesus does with us.