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From the Desktop of the Pastor – Week of the 16th Sunday after Pentecost

Hi everyone,

So we are staring at the start of school in the face, trying to enjoy the last bit of summer before it’s back to a strict schedule of when to wake up, when to eat and play, and when to go back to sleep again. This year is going to be interesting as many of the restrictions around the pandemic has lifted, yet the numbers from what I remember are currently worse than they were last year when school started.

Granted, we know a lot more about the virus this time around, and we know how to better protect ourselves, but I’d be lying if I said I still wasn’t a bit on the apprehensive side. But I get it, school is an important part of a kid’s life and plays a huge role in their development and social skills. So it makes sense that the kids are told to go back even when they might not want to or perhaps even feel uncomfortable. It makes sense that the kids need to learn the ability to decipher facts and gain the knowledge on how to apply it. It makes sense, to further our society, we train our kids to have the necessary tools to navigate life. It’s just part of being a kid in this part of the world.

That’s the idea as I understand it, anyway. Unless someone wants to twist it and call it a “violation of our rights and freedoms”. Yeah, I said it.

Here are the readings for next week:
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 116:1-9
James 3:1-12
Mark 8:27-38

“Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

Such a strong line coming from Jesus, but in my opinion, calling a spade a spade. See Peter just confessed Jesus as the Messiah, the promised saviour of the nation and world. But when Jesus tells the disciples how the world will be saved, Peter goes and rebukes him for talking nonsense.

And I get it, I wouldn’t want my friend and mentor to suffer and die, either. And besides, that sounds like an ineffective plan to save anyone. But that was the plan from the one in charge, whether Peter liked it or not, which he clearly did not.

So Jesus calls him the satan, the adversary, the enemy of the divine. He does this not because Peter had some sort of transfiguration into a devil, but because Peter’s mind was in the wrong place. Instead of thinking of the bigger picture of God’s grace and justice, he was thinking about his own convenience and preconceived notions of what is right and wrong. But the fact of the matter is, the Messiah was sent as a servant king. Our Saviour saves us through mercy and love. Jesus’ suffering and death was an act of humility, putting aside his own rights for the greater good.

Basically, it is part of being the Messiah. It is part of the salvation plan. It is who Jesus is and called to be. And far be it from us to stand in God’s way.

Thanks be to God! I hope you al have a great week!

Photo by Deleece Cook on Unsplash

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