Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Gospel: Mark 8:27-33

Jesus and his disciples set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi.
Along the way he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that I am?”
They said in reply,
“John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets.”
And he asked them,
“But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said to him in reply,
“You are the Christ.”
 
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days.
He spoke this openly.
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.” 

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Peter first met Jesus on the shores of Galilee. He must’ve felt quite special when the Lord looked at him and said, “Follow me.” Notice Jesus appealed to Peter’s feet, not to his mind, which too often got in the way.

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Sometime thereafter, Peter and the other disciples find themselves drifting aimlessly in a storm on the same Sea of Galilee. Mysteriously, the Lord appears and invites Peter, once again, to follow him.

Stepping out of the boat, Peter uses his feet to walk on water. It isn’t until his mind starts racing that Peter begins to sink. 

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In today’s Gospel, Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” All remain silent, except Peter, who steps forward, proclaiming, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” Because of this giant leap of faith, Peter receives the keys to the kingdom.

The Lord then washes Peter’s feet as a final act of love at the Last Supper before he himself walks to Calvary.

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At Pentecost, Peter begins leading the Church until the year 64, when the emperor Nero sets fire to Rome, placing the blame on Christians.

Fearing for his life, Peter flees the city…until the Lord appears to him, asking, Quo vadis? … “Peter, where are you going?”

Resolved not to deny his Lord again, Peter uses those same feet to turn his body around, leading him back into the burning city, where he is condemned to death by crucifixion. 

Feeling unworthy of dying like his Lord, Peter asks his executioners for final request: to turn him upside down.

There, in the heart of Rome, in the center of worldly power, Peter sees the world like his Master did – topsy turvy, upside down, right-side up. 

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Those feet that once accepted the call, “Follow me,” have taken their final step. Those same feet that sank fearfully into the Sea of Galilee are turned upward in hope, pointing to where his heart now belongs – the heavens. 

There, on that awkward, quickly assembled cross, Peter preaches his final sermon – not with words, but with his life. He fought the good fight. He ran the race to the finish. He kept the faith.

Using my own two feet, how might I follow the Lord, like Peter did, today?

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Image credits: (1) Phys.org (2) Saint Peter the Apostle, Caravaggio (3) tsuzanneeller.com

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Gospel: Mark 8:22-26

When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethsaida,
people brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.
Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on the man and asked,
“Do you see anything?”
Looking up the man replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.”
Then he laid hands on the man’s eyes a second time and he saw clearly;
his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.
Then he sent him home and said, “Do not even go into the village.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Part of the tragedy in today’s Gospel is the fact that this man’s blindness was preventable.

Many children in first-century Palestine were born blind because people didn’t know how to properly care for their bodies or how to prevent the spread of disease.

As a result, this man was treated as an outcast his whole life.

Suddenly, Jesus – the divine physician – comes along and heals him.

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Interestingly, this is the only miracle where the healing Jesus offers isn’t immediate; it takes two applications of divine spittle before the man can see clearly.

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Can’t we see something of our own stories in that?

Like this man’s blindness, some of the problems we face in life are preventable – whether it’s financial or relational ruin, spiritual stumbling, falling into unhealthy habits, or entertaining unnecessary fears.

We find ourselves in an unfortunate place – and need to be healed. Like that man, the healing we receive often comes slowly, in stages.

Rebuilding trust takes time. Breaking bad habits is often a gradual, uphill climb. Finding our way to financial security can take years.

But it’s possible.

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Is there any area of my life where I need that slow, healing touch of Jesus? 

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May we be content to receive – not a total resolution – but incremental change where we need it most today.

As the old scene goes, “the journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.”

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Image credits: (1) Moms in Prayer (2) Jesus Healing the Blind Man, Brian Jekel (3) The Letterer

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Genesis: 6:5-8, 7:1-5, 10

When the LORD saw how great was man’s wickedness on earth,
and how no desire that his heart conceived
was ever anything but evil,
he regretted that he had made man on the earth,
and his heart was grieved.

So the LORD said:
“I will wipe out from the earth the men whom I have created,
and not only the men,
but also the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air,
for I am sorry that I made them.”
But Noah found favor with the LORD.

Then the LORD said to Noah:
“Go into the ark, you and all your household,
for you alone in this age have I found to be truly just.
Of every clean animal, take with you seven pairs,
a male and its mate;
and of the unclean animals, one pair,
a male and its mate;
likewise, of every clean bird of the air, seven pairs,
a male and a female,
and of all the unclean birds, one pair,
a male and a female.
Thus you will keep their issue alive over all the earth.
Seven days from now I will bring rain down on the earth
for forty days and forty nights,
and so I will wipe out from the surface of the earth
every moving creature that I have made.”
Noah did just as the LORD had commanded him.

As soon as the seven days were over,
the waters of the flood came upon the earth.

The Word of the Lord.

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“Then the LORD said to Noah: ‘Go into the ark, you and all your household… Noah did just as the LORD had commanded him. [Then] the waters of the flood came upon the earth.”

Noah started building his ark while it was still bright and sunny outside. Once the darkness fell and the floods came, he was saved because he was already inside the boat. 

He prepared for the flood waters, even when the rain was nowhere in sight.

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The story of Noah’s ark offers us a timeless lesson in faith: 

Build it now.

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There are moments in every person’s life when the flood waters come rushing in; when it feels like we’re going to drown.

Faith is the ark that keeps us afloat.

It strengthens and protects our mind and heart, giving us firm resolve.

So, what is my spiritual life like? How am I growing in faith? 

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Ash Wednesday is just a few weeks away. 

Perhaps an appropriate goal this Lent is to put more time into building our “ark,” the place we go when the storms come rushing in, allowing us to rest peacefully with the Lord. 

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Image credits: (1) Substack (2) Skeptoid Podcast (3) Ludolf Bakhuizen, Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, QuotesCosmos