Today's Gospel Reading: Mark 8:27-35

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." 

In this incident, we have a glimpse on how close Peter might have been with Jesus to be able to take him aside and to rebuke him.  Their relationship might really have been that of the best of friends, that of brothers.  Peter might be concerned with Jesus' reputation when the latter foretold his disciples about his imminent fate, or maybe he was concerned about their reputation --- what if their followers would fall away after what Jesus said (that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected...and be killed and rise after three days.)  We do not really know the motivation of Peter for rebuking Jesus right after he said these things.  All we know is that he could speak openly to Jesus. And maybe Peter was taken aback when Jesus rebuked him as well.

Peter, who had just professed Jesus as the "Christ," and to whom Jesus said that it was God, his Father, who revealed this to him, was the same Peter whom Jesus addressed as Satan for thinking not as God does.

This reality can be a wake-up call for all of us, followers of Christ, who may have grown lax in our own following of Christ, in striving to think as he thinks, sense as he senses, do things as he does.  We might not notice it but we may have been becoming lukewarms --- content in just knowing that since our faith is in God, in Jesus, this is already enough. Well it is. But as St. James forewarned us in the 2nd reading,"faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead." He further made his point by saying, "Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works."

May we not deem our closeness with Jesus as a reason to slack in discerning where the Spirit is moving us.  Peter might have fallen in this trap of carelessly saying things without reflecting it from the heart.  Good thing, Jesus can also be blunt as to criticize him, and put him in his place: "You are thinking not as God does."

How is it then to think as God does? Can we know the thoughts of God? Didn't Jesus say, "Be perfect as my Father in heaven is perfect?" What is this perfection mean? Again, perfection if attributed to God, speaks of his essence and nature as trinity ---- a community of love.  He is not just love. God is also a communion of persons.  Therefore, to think like God is to be like him --- to always be in communion with others grounded in love.

Our profession of our faith in Jesus Christ must not stop with our spoken words.  May we embody whom we profess and be worthy of his name when we call ourselves Christians.

Today's Reading: Luke 6:39-42

You hypocrite! 

Jesus addressed his disciples with a parable.  He spoke of the tendency of people to notice the splinter on other people's eyes while not perceiving the wooden beam in their own eyes.  How sometimes we can appear concerned with other people's weaknesses and limitations that we want to help them improve themselves and change their ways; while we spend little time to look in ourselves and see that we also need help to change.  

"You hypocrite!" These words from Jesus came so strongly, enough to shake and agitate his hearers. It is very unusual of Jesus to speak in such tone.  In the Gospel, we can count few instances when Jesus seemed irate: during the cleansing of the temple; during a storm at sea when he criticized his disciples, especially Peter, for having "little faith"; and every time he encounters hypocrites (may it be a pharisee or one of his disciples,  he does not distinguish).

This may be because when we judge others based on our standard (or at least what we think is right), we may already, though unintentionally, making ourselves gods.  Jesus had to remind us time and time again that there is only one standard we should follow: God's (Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect). Perfection here points not to God's omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence; but to God's mercy and compassion.

The only person we can judge is ourselves. Because only us can see what's inside our heart. Similarly, we cannot judge others even if their actions may seem contrary to what is right because we do not really know what their motivations are.  

And yet, does this mean that we should just let them be and not mind them anymore? No. But what we should consider is the way we relate with those we want to "correct."  Why are we doing it? If the reason is that we love them, then it is crucial that we try to understand them first and put ourselves in their shoes.  Only when we see things as they see them, can we help them see things our way.  Who knows? It may be the wooden beam in our eyes which prevents us from seeing things correctly. 

Now, if the reason we do it is that we want to make ourselves feel better or superior by contrasting ourselves to them; then rightly, Jesus' words, "You hypocrite!" must be troubling for us.