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Failing
with Peter
September
17, 2006 Homily
Mark
8:27-35
Fr.
George Smiga
Nobody
wants to fail. None of us tries to make mistakes. All of us
are embarrassed when we mess up. But mess up we do. Failing
is a part of living, and all of us can fail in a variety of
ways. We can fail in our relationships: hurting our marriage,
our children, our friends. We can fail in our jobs, taking
on more than we can handle, cutting corners that lead to disaster,
betraying the trust that others place in us. We can fail ourselves:
giving in to apathy and self-pity, nurturing a private selfishness,
trading in on our good name.
There
are many ways to fail. The question is not whether we will
make a mistake, but how we will respond when we do. Here is
where the experience of Peter can help us. In today's gospel,
among the villages of Caesarea Philippi, Peter makes a serious
mistake. Buoyed up with pride at his ability to realize that
Jesus is the Messiah, he pushes off from that shaky foundation
and challenges Jesus. He corrects the Lord, when Jesus announces
his upcoming passion and death. Peter oversteps his bounds,
reveals his ignorance, and betrays the trust that Jesus had
placed in him. Jesus reacts strongly, pushing Peter aside
and calling him Satan. This failure of Peter foreshadows an
even greater failure, when, during the passion, Peter three
times denies Christ.
There
is no doubt that Peter was a good person, that Peter had great
intentions and a big heart. But there is also no doubt that
Peter made big mistakes. Peter is like us, and his experience
in today's gospel points to two truths which we need to remember
when we fail.
The
first truth is this: God does not reject us when we fail.
Peter's mistakes may have surprised and discouraged Peter,
but they did not surprise or discourage God. God knew who
Peter would be from the moment of creation. Nevertheless,
God chose to create Peter and called him to lead the church.
God relates in the same way to us. Our mistakes do not surprise
God. God loves us in spite of them. No matter what we have
done, God still calls us to be daughters and sons, agents
of Christ's Kingdom. God's love for us is constant. It is
everlasting.
The
second truth is this: when we fail, we are called to face
our mistake and move on. Jesus says in today's gospel, “Those
who wish to follow me must take up their cross and follow
me.” Normally when we think of a cross, we image it as some
burden which life places on our shoulders. But crosses can
also be burdens we place on our own shoulders. Our mistakes
and failures are our crosses. What are we to do with them?
We are not supposed to deny them or excuse them. We are not
are not called to put them down and bury them; we are called
to take them up and carry them. We carry our failures as crosses
and move forward with the help of Christ.
It
is not a question of whether we will make mistakes but how
we shall respond when we do. Peter shows us the way. I am
sure he never forgot those foolish words he spoke at Caesarea
Philippi or Christ's stinging rebuke. I know he always remembered
the three times that he denied Christ before the cock crowed.
But he took up those mistakes and moved forward as a disciple.
We can do the same. No matter what we have done, we can take
up our failures and follow after Christ. We need not fear
that those mistakes will crush us, because God never stops
loving us, and the love of God is the most powerful force
in creation.
Not
only does God's love allow us to take up the cross of our
failure and move forward; God's love can make that cross light.
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