Please pray for Amber, Anne W, Daphne K, Eugenie, Judy, Lisa Neill,
Lindsay, Margaret G, Mervyn Thomas, Richard, Robyn, Ross and Sean.
 

We continue to pray for our parishioners each week. 
This week we pray for Bruce, Desley, Terry L, Tarnya and Mollie Jean.
If you, or anyone you know, would appreciate our prayers or pastoral care, please contact
Murray on 0421 234 541 or Debbie in the church office on 3358 6945 or office@mruca.org.au

Reading
Mark 8:31-38
Jesus foretells his death and resurrection
³¹Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.  ³²He said all this quite openly.  And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.  ³³But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan!  For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
³⁴He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  ³⁵For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.  ³⁶For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?  ³⁷Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?  ³⁸Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
 

Reflection

Peter, the rock, gets it all wrong again – at least in part.  Peter hears Jesus’ teaching about what is to come, and it appears he believes Jesus is telling the truth, it’s just that he doesn’t want that to be the way things turn out.  He has set his mind on the safety and security of his friendship; he has set his mind on having a ‘victory’ in the way he imagined it.  In Jesus, Peter has met the Messiah, he knows this. The trouble is his definition of what the Messiah is supposed to do.  Perhaps he wants a triumphant and powerful Christ, not one who is humble and chooses love over violence. 

There are times in the life of the church when we fail to recognise the Messiah we have and join with Peter in the one we might have hoped for.  At those times, we too stand with Peter in setting our minds on the wrong things.