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| “Get Thee Behind Me Satan” by James Tissot, 1886-94 |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: James 2:1-9
My brothers and sisters, show no partiality
as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.
For if a man with gold rings and fine clothes comes into your assembly,
and a poor person with shabby clothes also comes in,
and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes
and say, “Sit here, please,”
while you say to the poor one, “Stand there,” or “Sit at my feet,”
have you not made distinctions among yourselves
and become judges with evil designs?
Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters.
Did not God choose those who are poor in the world
to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom that he promised to those who love him?
But you dishonored the poor.
Are not the rich oppressing you?
And do they themselves not haul you off to court?
Is it not they who blaspheme the noble name that was invoked over you?
However, if you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture,
You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well.
But if you show partiality, you commit sin,
and are convicted by the law as
transgressors.
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Commentary on Jas 2:1-9
In these verses the author warns the Christian community not to discriminate or to show favoritism based upon social status. This kind of behavior, we are told, violates God’s law and is an affront to all the Lord Jesus stands for. St. James uses the “royal law” referring perhaps to the Great Commandment, to support this instruction and concludes that to show partiality is sinful.
"'The royal law' is spelled out in the Book of Leviticus (19:18). St. James calls it this perhaps because, in addition to commanding love of God above all things, it is the basis and root of all the other commandments (cf. Matthew 22:34-40)." [4]
CCC: Jas 2:7 432, 2148
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
R. (7a) The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the Lord;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Glorify the Lord with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the Lord heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
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Commentary on Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
Psalm 34 sings a song of salvation at the hands of the Lord. It tells of God’s love for those who serve him. The psalmist, fresh from the experience of being rescued (Psalm 34:5, 7), can teach the "poor," those who are defenseless, to trust in God alone. This psalm, in the words of one being unjustly persecuted, echoes hope for deliverance and freedom.
The psalmist sings of God’s mercy and salvation, in reference to the promise made to the people of a land flowing with milk and honey. From a more prophetic perspective we also have an image of Christ in the Eucharist, the taste of God’s mercy.
CCC: Ps 34:3 716
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Gospel: Mark 8:27-33
Jesus and his disciples set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that I am?”
They said in reply,
“John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets.”
And he asked them,
“But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said to him in reply,
“You are the Christ.”
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.
He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
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Commentary on Mk 8:27-33
This selection from St. Mark’s Gospel is pivotal for the original audience. Up to this point in Jesus' public ministry he has been thought of by those who meet him as a prophet and teacher – a holy man. That view changes as St. Peter identifies him as “Christ,” the Messiah. Because the popular expectations about the Messiah differed greatly from the image and demeanor of Jesus, the Lord instructs them not to broadcast his true identity. After silencing them (his closest friends), Jesus uses the title “Son of Man” (see Daniel 7:13-14). He goes on to explain that “the Son of Man” (see NAB note on Mark 8:31), using his true humanity as a title, must go through suffering and humiliation before his final victory.
This frightens the disciples, and probably confuses many of the entourage (remember, there were more than just the Twelve following Jesus around). Peter confronts Jesus asking him to take a different approach to what he tells his students. Seeing this request as an invitation or temptation to take a different path, Jesus rebukes Peter and lashes out; “Get behind me Satan.”
CCC: Mk 8:27 472; Mk 8:31-33 557; Mk 8:31 474, 572, 649
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Homily:
“Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.”
This passage from the Gospel of St. Mark is where St. Peter takes on the role of a campaign advisor. He wants Jesus to sugar-coat the message so it is easier for the masses to follow. We speculate that the exchange could be paraphrased something like:
Peter: “Teacher, don’t tell them you are going be punished – they think people who get punished have sinned. You’re going to lose them. You need to tell them you are going to free the captives – you know, use the predictions in Scripture that talk about what the Messiah is coming to do and they will follow you to the ends of the earth. As it is you’re scaring them.”
Jesus: “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” (The subtext might have been “You don’t understand, I am not the kind of Messiah they expect. You want me to take up a royal crown and what worries me is, I could do that, avoiding what I know is to come.”)
Over the top of that exchange we are given the reminder from the Letter of St. James. The Lord did not come in purple robes to make it easier for the status quo to be a happier place (i.e. the rich get richer and the poor get poorer). The Lord came so that all might have hope, especially the poor, because their lot in life gives them little of that. How could Jesus bring that message to the poor if he himself assumed the place of great honor in the secular world? That was offered to him in the desert when he was shown all the kingdoms of the world and offered kingship over them by the devil.
The lesson we take away from scripture today is clear. We too must have compassion for those who have less than we. We are called to be a people of consolation following the commandment to “Love one another.” When we are offered an easier path, a more comfortable path, the offer probably comes, however innocently made, from the one who would have us fall.
Pax
[1] The picture today is “Get Thee Behind Me Satan” by James Tissot, 1886-94.
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] The Navarre Bible: “Revelation and Hebrews and Catholic Letters,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 288.
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