You Have A Covenant With God Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 Mark 8:31-38

God said to Abram, "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations.

Last week we heard about the covenant God made with Noah, the Noachian Covenant, which was sealed with a rainbow.  In today’s first reading God makes another covenant, this time with Abram, and as an extension of her husband, since women didn’t rate as high as men in ancient times, also with Sarah.  The sign of the covenant is that God changes both Abram’s and Sarai’s names – which changes their destinies.  

Abram’s name change signifies that he has a new relationship with God, a new status, has entered a new stage in his life.  Early Jews believed that to change a name altered one’s personality and fate.  In Hebrew, the name Abram means “exulted father,” while Abraham means “father of a multitude.”  God is stepping into Abram’s, and Sarai’s, lives, and changing everything.  Abraham will become the father of many nations, and as we can clearly see today, that has come to pass.  Christians, Jews, and Muslims all claim Abraham as their patriarch.

As for Sarah, despite the early Hebrews being far more concerned with the status of the patriarchs, she will share in Abraham’s blessing.  Though she is past the years of child bearing, the Bible tells us she was ninety years old, God is promising she will be the mother of nations, that from her will come a son.  Making a covenant with God is a deeply mysterious thing.  To be in covenant with the Almighty has far reaching affects. God changes two names, and the course of history is altered forever.

Then Jesus began to teach his disciples 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. ... And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

Blessed Saint Peter: author of Scripture, chief Apostle, teacher and defender of the faith, pillar of the Early Church, and martyr, whose name means “rock”.  Peter is already in a covenant relationship with Jesus, with God, as Jesus has already changed Peter’s name from Simon to Peter. On this rock I will build my Church. 

Despite all the good things one can say about Peter, he has one very human flaw. He has the unique ability to find precisely the wrong moment to say the wrong thing!   Or, to put it another way, Peter was an expert at opening his mouth and inserting his foot!  What could he have been thinking to rebuke Jesus?

It would seem, and it probably was so, that he doesn’t want to hear what Jesus has to say about suffering and rejection, and he figures that it is quite likely no one else wants to hear it either.  Just two verses before the beginning of today’s Gospel reading in verse 29, we would hear Peter answer Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?” with certainty and affirmation: “You are the Messiah!”  But it appears he doesn’t understand what that means, nor what it means to follow the Messiah.

It would seem that Peter is not prepared to accept the idea that following the Messiah and suffering can go hand in hand.  And we can relate to this, because we, too, are in a covenant relationship with Jesus, that is what it is to be baptized, to received the Holy Spirit and our Christian name, and yet we find it difficult to recognize sanctity in suffering.  No one wants to suffer, but Jesus makes it clear that being one of His followers, one of His friends, is all about, at the very least, risking the unpleasant, risking suffering.

Jesus says, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 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.”

Hearing those words – that was the moment that Peter and the disciples realized that the God they wanted was not the God made known in Jesus Christ!   The disciples wanted a God who would be a savvy political and military leader, leading the charge to put the Romans in their place once and for all.  They wanted someone who would raise them up to a position of power and importance.  And they wanted someone so radical that their enemies would cower and flee.  They were convinced that the keys to a good life were strength and power.

Instead, they got this Man who taught about loving others, feeding the hungry, and foretold His own impending death at the hands of the very same powers He was supposed to overcome.  This was not what they had signed up for - have we?

With their expectations in mind, it’s a bit easier to understand why Peter was so upset. Peter tries to talk Jesus out of being who He is and into be the Messiah they long for.  And Jesus turns to Peter, and rebuking him says “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” 

And that is a truly terrifying moment, for in that split second, Peter’s name is briefly changed, from “rock” to “devil”.  Peter is one of Jesus’ closest and dearest friends – the man on whom the Church will be built – and yet, as he tries to talk our Lord out of any reference to suffering and loss of life, Jesus makes it clear that what Peter is doing is complete and total evil.

What does this say to us?  Who among us hasn’t wanted a God who just swoops down at the first sign of trouble and sets things right?  A God who will supply our needs.

We ask God for a good parking spot; we pray for winning lottery numbers; we long for the phone call with the news of a better job or the approval from the bank for the new car or the bigger house, because in one way or another, we believe that if we can just get a little bit ahead and become just a little more successful, or if we could amass just a little clout or influence, our lives would be much better. While there is nothing wrong in asking Jesus for help, if this is the totality of our relationship with Him, we are in trouble. You are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.

Jesus makes it clear, that He is not all about the good times, about riches, and success.  Suffering and death are important, and it is His suffering and death that will save us all. 

When it comes to suffering, when we are told this is part of being Jesus’ friend, we may consider walking away.  We’d like to change things, find a slightly easier path, a slightly different God.  But that’s not how it’s going to be, because the God we worship is all about laying down His life for the sake of ours, and calling us to follow His example, by putting our lives on the line for others, to give, to love, until it hurts.

“If any want to become my followers,” Jesus said, “Let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

We are a covenant people, and taking up our cross means recognizing Christ crucified in the suffering world around us. This past week, I spoke to a young woman who recognized the blue square with the hashtag in it that I was wearing as a lapel pin.  It stands for the “Stop Jewish Hate” movement.  This young Jewish woman told me, as had another older Jewish lady several months earlier, that in our present societal climate she was afraid to wear anything that identified her as a Jew.  We spoke for a while.  We exchanged hugs.

I hadn’t realized that my pin marked me as “brave”, nor had I realized how frightened so many Jews are today, how frightened so many people, simple, kind, people are, all around me, all around us in our daily lives.  There is so much suffering in our world, often hidden from sight, but dealing with the things that give us pain, carrying our cross, inevitably leads to helping others with theirs.

We can only know the fullness of Christ’s resurrection if we are willing to know Christ crucified.  The Great Fifty Days of Easter find their meaning only after the solemn forty days of Lent.  Easter morning finds its consummation only through Good Friday.

Let us pray:

Jesus, keep us faithful to You. When our faith is tested, may we not betray Your trust. May we always be Your servants, even in times of suffering. We ask this for Your love and mercy’s sake. Amen.