GOSPEL POWER l AUGUST 5, 2021

18th Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel: Mt 16:13-23

13When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his  disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14And they  said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others  Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15He said to them, “But who do you  say that I am?” 16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the  Son of the living God.” 17And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you,  Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,  but my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this  rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail  against it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and  whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever  you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20Then he sternly  ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. 21From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he  must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of  the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the  third day be raised. 22And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke  him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.”  23But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a  stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine  things but on human things.” 5 thursday 18th Week in Ordinary Time T he invisible powers opposed to God operate in human  thoughts and decisions and become manifest in actions  that contradict and attempt to block the will of God. Jesus,  in today’s Gospel, exposes the subtle working of the forces of evil  by strongly calling Peter’s attention to how Satan is personalized in  his well-meaning attempt to divert him from the manner by which  he is to fulfill his messianic mission — that is, through suffering  and death. Sowing fear of pain and death is the devil’s best tactic  to make people avoid the pursuit of the maximum good. But this  maximum good, which is his Father’s will, is what Jesus has come  to accomplish. By embracing pain and death, instead of fleeing from  them, Jesus will bestow on us the power to recognize, unmask and  reject the devil’s clever tactics. Lord Jesus, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to  refuse the devil’s persuasions to turn aside from the maximum good. Amen