Joke: "A woman had bought a new dress which was very expensive. Her husband asked why she had been so extravagant. She replied, "The Devil made me do it." "Well," the husband asked, "Why didn't you say 'Get thee behind me, Satan!'" "I did," explained the wife, "But he said it looked as good in back as it did in front. So I bought it."

"Get behind me, Satan!" It is a rebuke not only to Peter but to every one of us when we do not think as God thinks. How do we feel as God thinks and not be tempted by the devil? How do we recognize God's will in following him?

To answer these questions, we are reminded that God is always present in our lives. He strongly invites us to follow Him, not for our glory, but for God's glory. These are portrayed throughout all of today's readings.

In Jesus' time, people were confused when they were asked who Jesus was, and they responded, as reported in today's Gospel, saying, "John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets." Does it sound confusing? Is Jesus John the Baptist? No, he is Elijah. No, he is just one of the prophets. Why were they so confused? After 2000 years, have we overcome this confusion? Who do we think Jesus is? Just as Peter acclaims that he is Christ, the Son of God, why do we divide ourselves? We have Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, Jehovah's Witness, Protestant, Episcopalian, Methodist, Anglican, Mormon, etc. What confuses? People were confused that Jesus was John the Baptist, it might be because John the Baptist was the voice to call for repentance, and so Jesus was.

He was Elijah, the prophet of the almighty deed. He performed great miracles, so Jesus was. Jesus changed water into wine. He healed the sick, cured the disease, and even raised the dead back to life again. People were confused that Jesus was one of the prophets with a great prophetic voice to call for repentance. What confused me if it's not that they did not get along with each other? This is precisely why Christianity has so many denominations nowadays, even though there is only one God. It's simply because we do not get along with one another. How do we get along to show God's glory in our lives if it's not to follow the Lord Jesus?

Jesus invites us in today's Gospel, saying, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, & follow me." Jesus says very clearly that whoever wishes to come after him. Whoever wishes is a voluntary act, not forced by anyone, not caused by any power of this world, but it is each and everyone's own decision. It is our own free will to choose to follow him. In our decision to follow the Lord Jesus, he invites us to come after him, not ahead of him because we are wise, we are holy, we are better than anybody else, none of these. Rather, we are invited to acknowledge the need for God in our lives to come after him. This acknowledgment requires an open ear when the prophet Isaiah puts it so well in today's first reading, saying, "The Lord GOD opens my ear that I may hear. The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced." How can the Lord open our ears to let us hear when we distance ourselves from him? When we close our hearts and do not let him touch us? What is it that we might distance ourselves from God and close our hearts to recognize him? Let's look at the cross. There are two lines on the cross, the vertical line, and the horizontal line. The horizontal line symbolizes our relationship with one another, and the vertical line illustrates our relationship with the Lord. When we struggle with one another in our own families, communities it leads to a distancing between The Lord and us vertically; in other words, that vertical line is broken, then that horizontal line, that relationship with one another begins to collapse because there is no Jesus in the middle to hold that horizontal line or to hold us and to restore our relationship with one another. When we have a strong relationship with the Lord on that vertical line, the Lord Jesus will make himself visible to hold us up on that horizontal line and to help us restore our relationship with one another.

How can we build up our relationship with the Lord on that vertical line of the cross? Can we stand at the foot of the cross and be afraid to approach God or deny the presence of God in suffering and challenges? Can we stand at the foot of the cross and say that we have faith in God and don't even bother to come to Church to reconcile with God on that vertical line, even though we face this dangerous pandemic? Saint James reminds us so well in today's second reading, saying, "What good is it, my brothers and sisters if someone says he has faith but does not have works?" "Faith of itself," he says, "if it does not have works, is dead." If we cannot deny ourselves to come to our brothers and sisters, especially when they are in need, our faith will be meaningless. We might not be able to approach the heart of Jesus, who, in his wisdom, chose to die in the middle of the cross for the sake of our salvation.

Of course, to deny ourselves, to go out of ourselves to come to our brothers and sisters might cause us pain and hurt, might cause us freedom and comfort, might cause us separation from our loved ones and others. It might even cost us our own lives, and the Lord Jesus strongly invites us to carry our cross.

Jesus rebukes Peter, "Get behind me, Satan," when Peter thinks that he knows, how can we humble ourselves to acknowledge the needs of God in our lives? In following the Lord Jesus, especially when we bear the name of Christ, how can we bring Christ to others when we have difficulty following the Lord's teaching and the Church's teaching, especially when we have to face hardship and challenges in carrying our cross following Jesus? How can we find peace and joy carrying our cross to follow the Lord Jesus that might cause us pain and suffering, sadness and sorrow, struggle and challenge, and it might even cost us our own life? The decision is yours.