Stumbling Peter

And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you." But 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." -Matthew 16:22-23 (NRSV)

The words spoken in the verses from Matthew are part of a larger conversation happening between Jesus and his disciples. As is often the case the disciples simply don’t understand what is going on - the greater picture of what God intends to do in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

When questions arise for the disciples it is usually Peter who gives those questions voice. Peter is the one who puts himself out there for good or ill. He was the one who stepped out of the boat. He was the one who tried to interpret the transfiguration. And in this passage, he is the one who doubts - who questions Jesus’ pronouncement that his journey is one that leads to the cross.

Peter is so helpful for us because he provides a way for us to enter into the story of Christ and the cross. His voice is so often the one that raises the same questions we may be afraid to ask. His response to what is happening is so often the way we respond - often exactly the way we respond. He fights. He flees. He denies. He questions. Sometimes he gets it right.

In the passage at left his question comes in the form of a denial that Christ might be something other than he (Peter) expects him to be. All that Jesus says about what will happen challenges what Peter thinks so he responds with denial, saying that “shall never happen.”

We often respond the same way. We expect God to do what we expect and what we think we need. Jesus’ response to Peter teaches us what we have to remember about God. God doesn't think the same way we do. We always come to God with our own perceptions and concerns. They aren't the same as God’s. Our concerns don’t set the path God takes, but instead are sometimes a stumbling block for us.

When we try to fit God onto our path - into our plan and expectations - we stumble. We don’t leave room for what God is really going to do. Thankfully, God does it anyway and the power of Satan and death is broken. That’s good news. That’s what God does despite our failure and doubt.

Community in Christ

 For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. (Rom 12:4-5 NRSV)

Perhaps more than any other expression of God’s church, a military chapel community represents the diversity of faith contained in unity with Christ. Each week we come together for worship as Christians from a diverse background, with a diverse set of experiences. 

There are several challenges that come with this diversity. We don’t all understand the gospel in the same way. In each of our faith journeys God has spoken to us in different ways, calling us to understand specific passages differently. 

In our specific community here at CLDJ, we have the added element of constant change. Some of us are here for four months or less, others are here for almost a year, and still others have been here for multiple years. 

In reality, this level of diversity is both a challenge and a blessing. Sometimes we are challenged by understandings of faith that run counter to how we have personally experienced God and God’s Word. These challenges to our own faith can make us nervous and uncertain. They can make us question parts of our faith that we never thought we would question.

But those questions can be a blessing. Those questions can be the way that God chooses to move us along our faith journey toward a deeper understanding of how God is acting in our lives. Anselm, an 11th century monk, coined the phrase, “faith seeking understanding” as a way to describe the journey that we are travelling. We support one another on that journey as we bring new perspectives together into a community that can explore deep questions. We live and work in a desert that can seem harsh and lacking life. But it does not have to be a lifeless time in your faith journey. You can use this time to seek a new kind of nourishment for your faith as you experience and grow through the diversity we bring to one another. Through that diversity, we remember that we are one body gathered around the cross.

Where is Justice?

Note: After a break for my R&R, I return to Djibouti and my weekly reflections. 

This is what the LORD says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my  salvation is close at hand and my  righteousness will soon be revealed.-Isaiah 56:1

Isaiah’s words at the left offer a really straightforward command to us. “Maintain justice and do what is right…” The challenge is finding a way to do that when all around you seems to conflict with these words of encouragement.

They are words of hope and promise as we remember that maintaining justice and doing what is right is possible because of God’s salvation - a salvation that is very close to us. But that promise can be forgotten when all we see is so much injustice and wrongness.

I admit that I don’t follow the news really closely. Sometimes it’s hard to follow when there seems to be no sign of any good news. Often the problem is finding a reliable news source that I trust. All the news outlets are accused of having one bias or another and it becomes difficult to find the truth in what is being reported.

Even when you only pay attention to the headlines (you can usually find at least a hint of unbiased truth by just reading that much), there is more than enough injustice to go around:

• Ethnic violence in Africa
• Violent extremism in all parts of the Middle East and elsewhere
• Religion based persecution in Iraq
• Race based conflict in the heart of the US

The list can go on and on. We live in a world that struggles to find justice. In the midst of that reality we, as Christians, are called to maintain justice and do what is right. We are told not to be conformed “to the pattern of this world” (Romans 12:2)  so we can’t be sucked into the injustice we face every day.

Whatever your news source, look for the injustice in what you read and figure out how you are personally going to stand against it. Look around you in your daily work and find ways to seek the justice that the world can’t seem to find.

God’s righteousness will be revealed as we do what is right. The world needs us to do it.