{"id":1549,"date":"2022-04-08T08:33:47","date_gmt":"2022-04-08T12:33:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=1549"},"modified":"2022-04-08T08:34:14","modified_gmt":"2022-04-08T12:34:14","slug":"christ-centered-and-cross-centered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/08\/christ-centered-and-cross-centered\/","title":{"rendered":"Christ-Centered and Cross-Centered"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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For the four weeks leading up to and going beyond Easter, we’re looking at the life of Peter.  Because he\u2019s so often at the center of both the brightest and darkest moments in the Gospels, he has always been a source of hope and inspiration for those endeavoring to follow Jesus.<\/em>


The years when Jesus lived happened to be a dark time in the history of God\u2019s people.
 
Roman legions occupied Judah and Galilee.  A cruel and erratic governor, Pontius Pilate, routinely violated Jewish religious sensitivities.  A puppet \u201cking,\u201d one of the many Herods, pretended to represent the interests of his people.  Taxation was through the roof \u2013 historians estimate it exceeded 40% of personal income.  The wealth gap between rich and poor was so severe that thousands of peasants resorted to \u201cbrigandry,\u201d or full-time theft, in order to put bread on the table.
 
How long could the nation endure such a crisis?
 
Most Jews, in their heart of hearts, believed three things.  First, God still loved them.  They were, after all, his chosen people.  Second, God was going to do something about this mess.  He was going to take action on their behalf.  And third, that action would happen through the Messiah, the Rescuer that God had promised centuries earlier through his prophets. 
 
That\u2019s why it\u2019s such a big deal when Peter declares to Jesus at Caesarea Philippi, \u201cYou are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.\u201d  Peter is saying, \u201cYou\u2019re the answer to our prayers.  You\u2019re the one we\u2019ve been waiting for.\u201d  Perhaps the long-anticipated war of liberation is about to begin. 
 
But just when it seems that Peter is on top of the world, everything changes:
 
\u201cFrom that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.  Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.  \u2018Never, Lord!\u2019 he said.  \u2018This shall never happen to you!\u2019  Jesus turned and said to Peter, \u2018Get behind me, Satan!  You are a stumbling block to me.  You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns\u2019\u201d (Matthew 16:21-23). 
 
What\u2019s going on here?
 
Peter is Christ-centered<\/em>.  That part of his theology is spot-on.  But he\u2019s not cross-centered<\/em>.  When he hears Jesus say that he is heading toward extreme suffering and a gruesome death, he pulls him aside and says, \u201cNo way, Lord!\u201d
 
\u201cHe took him aside\u201d is the same expression in Greek that would be used for a rich, influential person \u2013 someone who\u2019s \u201cmade it\u201d \u2013 taking aside a less fortunate person and giving them a few bucks or some friendly words of advice.  \u201cHey, lighten up a bit, you don\u2019t need to be thinking stuff like that.\u201d  Peter will take care of Jesus.
 
But Jesus does not need a caregiver.
 
\u201cJesus turned<\/em> and said to Peter\u2026\u201d At root this verb means to turn on the heel.  Jesus wheels around and confronts Peter. 
 
\u201cGet behind me, Satan!\u201d  In other words, get back in line behind me.  That\u2019s where disciples belong, not up here in my grill telling me how to run the universe.  Bible scholar Dale Bruner points out that we make mistakes not only when we pursue our worst thoughts, but when we try to impose on Jesus what we think are our very best thoughts. 
 
Peter has already demonstrated that he knows who Jesus is.  But now he is trying to make Jesus conform to his notion of what a real<\/em> Messiah ought to be doing.
 
Jesus calls Peter Satan because he well knows (from his own experience of temptation) that the devil is the ultimate source of Peter\u2019s muddled ideas as to what should happen next.  Satan inspires us to pursue success without suffering.  Maybe we can have Easter without Good Friday.  Why not give our loyalty to Bible teachers who promise health-and-wealth and \u201cthe abundant life,\u201d without the messiness of those verses where Jesus reminds us to take up our crosses every day?
 
Concerning the core beliefs of the Jews in Judah and Galilee, God did indeed love his people.  And he did indeed take action to rescue them.  But his rescue wasn\u2019t a military invasion or political revolution.  He sent a suffering<\/em> Messiah who alone could deal with their greatest need.  On the cross he swept away every sin and affliction that could possibly keep them from standing in the presence of God.
 
Non-Catholics have noted that when Jesus made Peter the Rock, he obviously didn\u2019t make him inerrant \u2013 seeing as how his very first statement after his \u201cordination\u201d needed divine correction.
 
Bruner daringly suggests that St. Peter\u2019s Cathedral in Rome needs a new engraving.  Jesus\u2019 words, \u201cYou are the Rock\u201d are plainly visible.  Perhaps Jesus\u2019 other words to Peter should be there, too: \u201cYou are Satan.\u201d 
 
That\u2019s true of every Christian disciple, after all.  One minute we can score a \u201c100\u201d on a Christological pop quiz.  Then a minute later we wonder why God allows us to go through pain and heartache.  Isn\u2019t it Jesus\u2019 job to make us happy? 
 
Actually, it\u2019s Jesus\u2019 job to help us become just like him.   
 
Being Christ-centered is wonderful. 
 
But being Christ-centered and<\/em> cross-centered <\/em>is what it means to be faithful. 

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For the four weeks leading up to and going beyond Easter, we’re looking at the life of Peter.  Because he\u2019s so often at the center of both the brightest and darkest moments in the Gospels, he has always been a source of hope and inspiration for those endeavoring to follow Jesus. The years when Jesus lived happened to be a… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1550,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[421],"class_list":["post-1549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-peter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1549"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1552,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1549\/revisions\/1552"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}