On the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B, the Gospel reaches a hinge point in Mark. In The Mass Readings Explained, Dr. Brant Pitre walks through this Sunday's readings and shows how Peter's confession is joined to the first prediction of the Passion and the call to take up your cross and follow.
In the Gospel (Mark 8:27–35), Peter declares, “You are the Christ,” but rebukes Jesus when he foretells suffering and death; Jesus answers, “Get behind me, Satan,” and teaches that whoever would follow him must deny himself and take up his cross. Isaiah's Suffering Servant gives his back to those who strike him (Isaiah 50), and James insists that faith without works is dead (James 2). Dr. Pitre draws on St. John of the Cross to explore the paradox: whoever loses his life for the gospel will save it.
GOSPEL, FIRST READING & PSALM TRANSCRIPT (Subscribe or Login for Full Transcript):
So that's the second element in the reading for today.
This is the first passion prediction in the Gospel of Mark, and scholars have frequently pointed out that if you look at Mark's gospel carefully, Jesus predicts his passion, death, and resurrection on three occasions. The first one is after Peter proclaims him the Christ. So as soon as Peter explicitly acknowledges Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus immediately responds to that by saying let me tell you what kind of Messiah I'm going to be, I'm going to be a suffering Messiah, I'm going to be a betrayed Messiah, I'm going to be a Messiah who’s going to be killed by the leaders of the people but on the third day I'll be a rising Messiah, I’m going to rise from the dead. So this is the first prediction of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and in Mark's gospel the theme of suffering is central. So what we see him doing here is emphasizing that Jesus is trying to clarify for the disciples that he's not going to be a triumphant Davidic Messiah riding into Jerusalem on a chariot in order to conquer his enemies, he’s going to be a suffering and dying Messiah who will end up crucified. Now how does Peter take that? Not well. So it's fascinating. If you look at Mark here it says Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him. Now sometimes in our imagination we think Peter took Jesus aside and said oh Lord please, I don’t want this to happen to you, because that's how the movies about the life of Christ will show it, but that’s not what Mark says. Mark says that Peter took Jesus aside and rebuked him. In other words. he gave him a good talking to. He's basically reprimanding Jesus for predicting his own passion.
Now I want you to think about that for a second. Imagine rebuking Jesus and taking Jesus aside and saying, let me tell you how it's going to be, right. Good thing we don’t ever do that in our lives, right, tell God how things are going to be or how they're going to need to be. We all have that tendency to think we know better than the Lord does. And of course it's foolish every time we think that, we're always acting like a fool, because God of course in his providence knows everything and Jesus here knows exactly what God's plan is and what he’s going to accomplish on Calvary, but Peter doesn't understand it yet and so on the one hand it's ridiculous for Peter to rebuke Jesus. On the other hand, it is at least worth noting that Peter here isn't even concerned about himself, he’s concerned about Jesus. He doesn't want something to happen to Jesus, he doesn’t want Jesus to have to suffer. But in that context what does Jesus say? The famous words, get behind me Satan. Now why is Jesus so harsh with Peter? All Peter is trying to do is avoid suffering. Isn’t that a reasonable response to the threat of crucifixion, of death, of persecution and betrayal. Well it seems reasonable unless you understand that the plan of God is for his Messiah to suffer and die, unless you understand that the way of salvation is the way of the cross, so that the desire to avoid suffering, in this context, the desire of Peter for Christ to avoid his suffering and his passion is in its essence satanic, right, because it would undo the very mechanism by which God is going to redeem the world and deliver it from Satan and from the power of death.
SECOND READING TRANSCRIPT (SubscribeorLoginfor Full Transcript):
The 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time brings us to what is perhaps the most famous passage in the Letter of James, and that is his statement about the relationship between faith and works, and his declaration that faith without works is dead. So let's look at what James has to say about these things, and also, as we're reading it, ask ourselves, how do we reconcile this with St. Paul's teaching in Romans 3 and Galatians 2 on justification by faith apart from works of the law? And so we'll try to see how those go together here. James 2:14-18 is a short passage, but here's what it says...
GOSPEL, FIRST READING & PSALM TRANSCRIPT (Subscribe or Login for Full Transcript):
So that's the second element in the reading for today.
This is the first passion prediction in the Gospel of Mark, and scholars have frequently pointed out that if you look at Mark's gospel carefully, Jesus predicts his passion, death, and resurrection on three occasions. The first one is after Peter proclaims him the Christ. So as soon as Peter explicitly acknowledges Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus immediately responds to that by saying let me tell you what kind of Messiah I'm going to be, I'm going to be a suffering Messiah, I'm going to be a betrayed Messiah, I'm going to be a Messiah who’s going to be killed by the leaders of the people but on the third day I'll be a rising Messiah, I’m going to rise from the dead. So this is the first prediction of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and in Mark's gospel the theme of suffering is central. So what we see him doing here is emphasizing that Jesus is trying to clarify for the disciples that he's not going to be a triumphant Davidic Messiah riding into Jerusalem on a chariot in order to conquer his enemies, he’s going to be a suffering and dying Messiah who will end up crucified. Now how does Peter take that? Not well. So it's fascinating. If you look at Mark here it says Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him. Now sometimes in our imagination we think Peter took Jesus aside and said oh Lord please, I don’t want this to happen to you, because that's how the movies about the life of Christ will show it, but that’s not what Mark says. Mark says that Peter took Jesus aside and rebuked him. In other words. he gave him a good talking to. He's basically reprimanding Jesus for predicting his own passion.
Now I want you to think about that for a second. Imagine rebuking Jesus and taking Jesus aside and saying, let me tell you how it's going to be, right. Good thing we don’t ever do that in our lives, right, tell God how things are going to be or how they're going to need to be. We all have that tendency to think we know better than the Lord does. And of course it's foolish every time we think that, we're always acting like a fool, because God of course in his providence knows everything and Jesus here knows exactly what God's plan is and what he’s going to accomplish on Calvary, but Peter doesn't understand it yet and so on the one hand it's ridiculous for Peter to rebuke Jesus. On the other hand, it is at least worth noting that Peter here isn't even concerned about himself, he’s concerned about Jesus. He doesn't want something to happen to Jesus, he doesn’t want Jesus to have to suffer. But in that context what does Jesus say? The famous words, get behind me Satan. Now why is Jesus so harsh with Peter? All Peter is trying to do is avoid suffering. Isn’t that a reasonable response to the threat of crucifixion, of death, of persecution and betrayal. Well it seems reasonable unless you understand that the plan of God is for his Messiah to suffer and die, unless you understand that the way of salvation is the way of the cross, so that the desire to avoid suffering, in this context, the desire of Peter for Christ to avoid his suffering and his passion is in its essence satanic, right, because it would undo the very mechanism by which God is going to redeem the world and deliver it from Satan and from the power of death.
SECOND READING TRANSCRIPT (SubscribeorLoginfor Full Transcript):
The 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time brings us to what is perhaps the most famous passage in the Letter of James, and that is his statement about the relationship between faith and works, and his declaration that faith without works is dead. So let's look at what James has to say about these things, and also, as we're reading it, ask ourselves, how do we reconcile this with St. Paul's teaching in Romans 3 and Galatians 2 on justification by faith apart from works of the law? And so we'll try to see how those go together here. James 2:14-18 is a short passage, but here's what it says...
The Readings for the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
First Reading: Isaiah 50:5–9a
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 116:1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 8–9
Second Reading: James 2:14–18
Gospel: Mark 8:27–35
Key passages & sources examined: the Suffering Servant who sets his face like flint (Isaiah 50:6–7); Peter's confession, “You are the Christ” (Mark 8:29); the first Passion prediction; “Get behind me, Satan” (Mark 8:33); self-denial, the cross, and the paradox of losing one's life (Mark 8:34–35); St. John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount Carmel.
What are the Mass readings for the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B? Isaiah 50:5–9a; Psalm 116; James 2:14–18; and the Gospel, Mark 8:27–35.
What is Peter's confession in Mark 8? “You are the Christ”—though he does not yet accept a suffering Messiah.
Why does Jesus say “Get behind me, Satan” to Peter? Because Peter is thinking not as God does but as human beings do, resisting the way of the cross.
What does “take up your cross” mean? To deny oneself and, for the sake of Christ and the gospel, be willing to lose one's life in order to save it.
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dgbaugh
Hi David, I see you do have a subscrition. Once logged in, you can access everything by going to 'Mass Readings Explained' in the main menu bar of our website, then 'Watch Videos' and then pick one of the options there. The calendar view works well for finding those Mass Readings that are in the near future and The Mass Explained will take you to videos in that series.
I have inherited leading a Bible Study based on the Mass Readings for each Sunday. The videos are very helpful in facts and insights to add to my research and prayerful preparations. Thank you for offering these teachings.
I subscribed and offered payment
but I have received nothing I requested???
Please advise
dgbaugh
Hi David, I see you do have a subscrition. Once logged in, you can access everything by going to 'Mass Readings Explained' in the main menu bar of our website, then 'Watch Videos' and then pick one of the options there. The calendar view works well for finding those Mass Readings that are in the near future and The Mass Explained will take you to videos in that series.
I have inherited leading a Bible Study based on the Mass Readings for each Sunday. The videos are very helpful in facts and insights to add to my research and prayerful preparations. Thank you for offering these teachings.
