When weakness is strength

Who of us has not, some time or other, changed his mind about something important, even maybe shortly after having taken a decision? Almost in everything, but especially in matters of importance, there always stand out in our limited mind different alternatives, pros and cons, advantages of some sort or other, which however exclude each other. When we are in a state of enthusiasm our mind turns to one direction, but when we give ourselves time for deeper reflection we soon change our mind and end up opting for the quite opposite choice.

In today's Gospel we see Peter going through a similar human experience, one that proves not only our endowment of a free will and our limited knowledge of things, but also our weakness when faced with difficulties of some sort.

As the time for the beginning of his Passion and Death was drawing closer, Jesus began to speak more openly about the sufferings that were awaiting him and about his death on the cross. That, however, proved to be too much for Peter, who immediately protested saying: "Never, Lord, no such thing shall happen to you!"

This remark must have shocked Jesus, who in fact did not mince his words when he responded: "Get away from me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path!" I am not sure that a stronger rebuke has ever come out of Jesus' mouth. Peter, the "firm rock" of yesterday, has today turned into a stumbling block!

This story, which does not do much honour to Peter, even though he was to take care of the Church of Christ after Our Lord's ascension into heaven, should be for us like a mirror in which we see reflected our own image. In spite of all our pretensions and presumptions, we are only what we are in reality, no more and no less. We are limited in our capabilities and ignorant about many things, even important ones sometimes.

Our love for Christ and our sincere commitment to him, however, can make new men and new women out of us. Jesus' compassion is great indeed and his divine power is greater still. What we should really be afraid of, then, is not our own weakness, but our lack of trust in God's sincere love and infinite power. We cannot do anything good by ourselves, but we can do everything with Him. As a much repeated expression goes: "If God is with us, who can be against us?"

As an anonymous author has written: "Success is never final and failure never fatal, it is courage that counts". When things go well, we should avoid being too conceited and sure of ourselves. When things turn bad, on the other hand, we should know where the ultimate remedy is to be found, in Him who was able to transform Peter from clay, as it were, into a solid rock. So long as our faith in Christ remains persevering and enthusiastic, in spite of failures and setbacks, we followers of Christ can be assured that God has specific plans for each of us, whatever our status and profession.

"You can challenge the world", runs the dynamic motto of the Christopher Movement. And today's world does indeed need a change, a radical one. We cannot imagine what God can do with us, if we only have trust in him and allow him to work in us, with us and through us.