Your part in the scene

Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."

Matthew 8:31-33

Have you ever been encouraged to do something that you knew in that moment would not be wise or for the ultimate good?  How did you assert your own sense of what was the right path to take?  Did you say (in some way or another) "Get behind me Satan?"  Did you try their suggestion (not wanting to make waves) and then make a mid course correction?  

The Grace of a Delay

Sometimes we determine for ourselves a trajectory (or plan) that sounds great on paper.  It may even be affirmed by others.  They may, of course, be legitimate encouragers.  But they may also be merely trying to please us.  Or they may have other motives.  It is important to learn from our experiences that not everybody who has an opinion about what we are considering as a "plan" is an appropriate source of counsel.  Their input may be rooted, at best, in narrow vision; or in worst cases, they may in some way NOT want us to flourish.  

This time of reflection is not meant to move you into a judgmental mode where you criticize the "other" for the way you were shut down.  It is a time for you to understand where and how God was with you in the midst of the challenge.  Take a deeper look.  Barriers to our plans can be frustrating, like detours, road closed signs and speed bumps in a parking lot.  Sometimes they are nothing more than an inconvenience or the law's effort at traffic control  But sometimes they do, literally, save us from a possible disaster, had we been able to keep moving on our preferred road at our self determined pace.  

Read, Reflect and Write.

Was the interruption in your plans like a brick wall?  or a stop sign? a caution sign? or a speed bump?  Did it enable you to traverse a scenic or enlightening byway?  Now as you look at the delay, where can you see God's work in it? 

When you argued with God

Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."


Matthew 8:31-33

Most of us have been here with Peter.  When we enter discipleship, enthusiasm may take over, and we may begin to dream dreams and envision plans that are not necessarily the way God would have them. 

Any barrier or call for a more patient pace may seem like an affront.  It may not make sense to us.  We may get defensive.  Or our lower lip may jut out in disappointment

 and we may quit, saying something like:  If I can’t have it my way then I won’t do it at all. 

Living in ambiguity can generate all sorts of anxiety.  We need God’s help and guidance in many ways, but especially in becoming vulnerable, unknowing, and obedient.  Dependency upon God increases our faith-hardiness and our resiliency.

I recall a moment when I met with the Assistant to the Bishop to discuss candidacy in the ELCA.  I waxed eloquent to her about my sense of call.  I also told her all of the ways my gifts could most certainly be used -- when, where, how.  At that moment she interrupted me.  In Christ's Name, she rebuked me.  

She said, "You are not ready.  You are too certain about the way this is supposed to work.  Go back to your prayers regarding this.  Listen.  And when you are ready to say nothing more about this than "Yes, and I ask God to help and guide me" come back and we will talk about candidacy." 

I was disappointed and hurt.  I thought that the more I knew about my path (setting my mind on human things) the more effective I would be in discipleship.  Not so.  The less I know the more likely I am to follow the guidance of the divine.  

I thank God, now, that I was rebuked.  I needed that.  

Read, Reflect and Write. 

This week you begin with "Once upon a time, I set my mind on human things."  Can you recall a time when you "knew everything" about the way things were supposed to go?  When did you trust what humans were telling you (through media or peer pressure or your own ego) more than what God was saying?  Who (or what) showed up to rebuke you? 

Sometimes we call these turning points "reality checks".  Something happens that places what we are doing or thinking in line with "reality" and we discover that we have been denying what is true.  When it comes to faithful discipleship,  it may be more accurate to call these turning points "divinity checks".  

Write after you worship

Record your reflections about today’s worship. Ask yourself:  So what did that mean?

 (What is staying with you?  Something from the scripture lessons?  Or the prayers? Or the music?  Or the sermon?  Or the Eucharist? )

Enter the Scripture

Read the lesson for today.  No need to write today.  Hopefully you will make it to  church to be with the others who are praying, singing, listening and receiving.  Let this be a Sabbath day for you -- it is a mini-Easter, remember?  


Mark 8:31-38
8:31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

8:32 He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

8:33 But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."

8:34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

8:35 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.

8:36 For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?

8:37 Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?

8:38 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."


Return tomorrow ready to read and write about your own story.  

Today is the day to sift your story about your wilderness place and ask yourself the following. 

In that place, what did God reveal to me about God?

In that place, what did God reveal to me about myself? about others? 

How does what I learned in that place relate to how I might be in wilderness places I am in now (or will enter in the future)?  

Angels in Waiting

Today take a look again at the wilderness scene you described at the beginning of the week.  You may be tempted to leave it before you have fully appreciated the way that Love reached out to you while you were there.

What can you say about the way God came to you through chance encounters?  People may have showed up to give you a cup of cool water.  Perhaps you were encouraged by something you read, or a story you heard.  Or maybe there were times or places that served as an oasis for you--a small "break" from the trials you were facing in that wilderness.

If a person new to faith were to ask you: " Is it true?  Does God really stay with you in the dark places of life?" how would your response serve to inspire that person?