The Second Sunday in Lent

Another Day at the Office (with Satan)
Mark 8:31-38

Just to review how today’s Gospel passage begins: Jesus is teaching his disciples. He says that the Son of Man will undergo great suffering, be rejected by the leaders of his own people and then be killed. Peter is troubled by Jesus’ words and rebukes him. Then Jesus, in turn, rebukes Peter, saying to him, “Get behind me, Satan.” Jesus speaks directly to Peter, saying to his face, “Get behind me, Satan.”

I’ve read and heard this Gospel passage many times. As I entered into the story this year, something new really hit me. Peter stuck around. Even after this very highly charged exchange with Jesus, Peter stuck around.

People turn away from Christ and leave the Christian life all the time. When I think of the casual, petty and insignificant reasons that people leave the church or turn away from the Christian life… When I think of those excuses in light of this passage, it’s pretty striking. People feel justified leaving the church or the Christian life for incredibly casual, petty and insignificant reasons. Peter’s Lord, Jesus, accuses Peter of being Satan or at least speaking Satan’s words. And Peter stayed around.

So what all is really going on in this passage? It helps to put it in a larger context. Just a few verses before the passage we heard today is that portion of Mark’s Gospel usually called “The Confession of Peter.” Jesus asks the disciples who people say he is. They give a variety of answers. Jesus presses them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter says, “You are the Messiah, the Christ.” Peter recognizes Jesus as God’s anointed Messiah.

Then Jesus begins to teach how the Messiah must suffer, be rejected and killed.  This is what upsets  Peter and he rebukes Jesus. The Greek has a patronizing tone to it. Peter is putting Jesus down, correcting Jesus as though he were a child or an underling.

Several scholars I referred to pointed out that Peter was actually on pretty solid ground. There was absolutely no expectation within the Judaism of Jesus’ and Peter’s day that the Messiah would suffer. It may be hard for us, looking back through two millennia of Christian understanding to realize how crazy Jesus would have sounded to Jews of his day.

A suffering Messiah? It’s easy to imagine Peter saying, “No, Jesus, you know that’s not what we’ve been taught. That’s not what the Scriptures say about the Messiah. Let’s nip this misunderstanding in the bud, get it straightened out before we go any further. Our Messiah will not undergo suffering or rejection… He will come in strength and glory.”

And Jesus said, “Get behind me, Satan.”

Peter might have been feeling like a pretty nifty disciple after getting the Messiah thing right. His confidence was probably soaring pretty high. And then Jesus says to him, “Now I see or hear Satan in you.” And Peter stayed around!

Jesus saw or heard Satan in Peter’s words and actions. Satan. The Greek is satanas. Scripture does not paint a full or entirely consistent picture of Satan as an incarnation of evil. The word means “adversary.” Satan is the adversary or opponent to God’s will. Whether incarnate or not, what is meant here is a power, a force that opposes God’s will.

Mark is clear in this Gospel passage that it is God’s will that the Messiah suffer and be rejected and killed. So Satan is the force that seeks to suppress or oppose God’s will for a suffering Messiah. There are a couple of ways this can be interpreted. One focuses on Jesus. Maybe in Peter’s words, Jesus hears the same tempter he heard in the wilderness after his baptism. Jesus hears Satan, the tempter, trying to encourage him to abandon his divine mission with its suffering in favor of human goals like comfort, glory or power.

Or maybe the passage is more about Peter. Maybe Satan’s voice is the voice encouraging Peter to reshape Jesus into something that fits Peter’s expectations. That’s a powerful temptation within us all—to create God according to our own needs and expectations.

Either way, Peter’s words are part of trying to replace God’s will for a suffering Messiah with some other human desire.

And in reaction, Jesus doesn’t mince words. His words to Peter are not even remotely pastoral. Mark tells us Jesus looked at all the disciples. At least in my imagination, Jesus is thinking, “Peter may have said it, but all of you were thinking it.” Then he rebukes Peter: “Get behind me, Satan.”

And Peter stays around. In fact, right after today’s passage, Mark recounts the story of the Transfiguration. Where Jesus takes Peter (!), James and John up to the mountaintop to see the radiant glory of God shining forth in the person of Jesus. Peter experiences the glory of God face to face.

The relationship between Peter and Jesus did not end after the accusation and struggle with Satan. The relationship between Peter and Jesus did not end. Neither of them ended it. Peter did not sulk away with his feelings hurt. Nor did Jesus cast Peter out of the fellowship of disciples. A new day dawned. The relationship continued. In way, even an event as highly charged as this one is just another day at the office for disciples of Christ.

We don’t know if there was some moment of private reconciliation between Peter and Jesus. I like to think there was. I like to think Peter recognized his hubris and went to Jesus. "I'm sorry, Lord. Please forgive me. And help me remember that I need your help to guide me in the right way." I like to think that Peter expressed his repentance and found reconciliation in God’s mercy.

This passage seems to carry two messages for us in our lives today. The first is a reminder of the significance of evil in our lives. Whether or not you think of evil as something incarnate in a Satan or whether you see evil as darkness within the human heart and soul, whenever we—by our action or inaction—oppose the will of God, we are in the same camp as Peter. Peter’s misspeaking may not seem like a big deal, the sort of thing we would brush off, especially since we can explain it as such an easy mistake given the circumstances. We often can explain away our own missteps in the life of faith... given the circumstances. Surely our words or actions are not that big a deal… Not really evil. No.  Every single time our actions or our inaction thwarts or opposes the will of God, we are in the same place as Peter when Jesus says to him, “Get behind me, Satan.”

Second, as significant as evil is for us, it is also routine. This exchange was almost a normal everyday occurrence between Jesus and Peter. Confronting and overcoming evil in our world, within ourselves is a routine part of the Christian life. We need not fear that our own struggle with the voice of Satan will permanently alienate us from Jesus. The relationship will continue. It’s just another day at the office for Christian disciples.

Evil is both more significant and more common that we think.

We are in the season of Lent, of course. On Ash Wednesday, the church invited all of us to the observance of a holy Lent. Part of that invitation was a description of the origin and purpose of Lent. This season of Lent “was a time when those who, because of notorious sins, had been separated from the body of the faithful were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to the fellowship of the Church. Thereby, the whole congregation was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution set forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need which all Christians continually have to renew their repentance and faith.”

All Christians need to continually renew their repentance and faith. The Christian life is never static. There is never a time in the Christian life to pause and measure our success or accomplishments. There is never a time when we can say, “I have arrived! I have recognized the Messiah.” The Christian life is a process of continual repentance and renewal. And for those, like Peter, who stick around, tomorrow may bring amazing revelation of glory.