Dear Parishioners,

"Get behind me, Satan." Those are among the strongest words Jesus ever speaks to Peter. Just moments earlier, Peter had confessed Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the living God," and Jesus had called him Petros, the Rock upon which he would build his Church. Yet now that same Rock is stumbling. What happened?

Peter wanted to get ahead of Jesus. He could accept Jesus as the Messiah, but he could not accept a Messiah who would suffer, be rejected and die. Peter had his own idea of what Jesus' path should look like. He wanted victory without the cross, glory without suffering, and perhaps a Messiah who would make everything easier.

How often do we do the same? We may not say it aloud, but our prayer can sometimes become: "Lord, here is what I think you should do. Here is where I think you should lead me. Here is how I think my life should turn out."We can easily get ahead of Jesus rather than follow him.

Notice what Jesus says: "Get behind me." He is not telling Peter to go away. He is telling him to get back into the proper position, behind the Master, following him.

The devil is real, but the power of Christ is greater. The temptation is not always dramatic or obvious. Movies and books sometimes portray Satan in hideous grand ways that can obscure the much more subtle ways evil works in ordinary life. The devil often does not need to lead us into something obviously terrible. He simply needs to get us distracted, apathetic, cynical, critical, impatient or selfish. He can tempt us to become tired of doing good, to hold onto resentment, to waste our time and resources, or to look for happiness and love in places that cannot satisfy the deepest desires of our hearts.

C.S. Lewis captures this beautifully in his classic book The Screwtape Letters, published in 1942. In this imaginative work, Lewis presents Screwtape, a senior demon, writing letters to his nephew Wormwood, a junior tempter. The humor and irony come from seeing how the tempter tries to lead persons away from God through ordinary, seemingly insignificant opportunities. What makes the book so compelling is how relevant those temptations remain today.

Holiness is real work because following Jesus requires us to keep choosing him not just once, but every day and in every moment. The good news is that we do not have to go looking for heroic opportunities to become holy. We simply need to look around us. There is always someone to love, someone to serve, someone to forgive, someone who needs our patience, someone who needs encouragement. There is always an opportunity to direct our head and heart toward God.

The question is: Am I following Jesus, or am I trying to get ahead of him? When we find ourselves becoming negative, impatient, critical or self-centered, perhaps that is the moment to stop and pray: "Jesus, help me get behind you again. Help me follow you."

Peter stumbled, but Jesus did not abandon him. The Lord continued to form him, strengthen him and ultimately entrust him with the care of the Church. That should give each of us hope. Our failures do not have the final word. Christ does. Every day, and truly every moment, is an opportunity to choose Christ. And when we walk in the shadow of the Master and follow his path, he provides the grace and strength we need.

May we never be afraid of the cross. May we never presume to know better than the Lord. And may our prayer each day be simple: Jesus, help me follow you. Keep me close to you. And give me the grace to choose you in every moment.

In Chris.

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