Today’s Gospel is the second occasion when Jesus foretells His death and resurrection. Previously, it was Peter who reacted violently to this news protesting “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” Jesus chastises Peter telling him that he is ‘a stumbling block…for you are setting your mind not on divine things, but on human things.’ (Matthew 16:22-23) The response of the disciples in today’s reading ‘they were greatly distressed’ is a little more muted but clearly shows both their concern for Jesus and their inability to understand the full import of Jesus’ forewarning, that his death and resurrection are necessary.

Too often when we hear some news, we react to what our hearts and minds are inclined to hear, rather than absorbing and responding to the bigger picture. Emotive newspaper headlines lead us to make hasty judgments about the guilt of a person before they have faced a judicial process. We can react to a child’s bad behaviour without considering what might be contributing factors or indeed, even a reasonable action, if we understand what has taken place prior.  

Jesus showed his love and care for the disciples by letting them know beforehand what was to take place, even though it was beyond their ability to comprehend ‘divine things’. Even with the gift of hindsight, we too suffer from shortsightedness as our minds are set on ‘human things’. We need to find space for God to speak into our hearts so that we can be attuned to the bigger picture, the Divine Plan, that Jesus has for each one of us.

We honour St Clare, who embraced poverty and simplicity, so that she could grasp the bigger picture of God’s gift of eternal life.

By Mike Humphrys