Photo was taken on Bere Island looking across at Castletownbere, West Cork (Irl)

A yacht maximises an evening breeze as it sails past Bere Island.

Thought on Sunday – August – 28/08/2011

The following reflection is by Jane Mellett

Poor Peter. He never seems to get it quite right. His journey throughout the Gospel is definitely one of ups and downs as one minute he is a ROCK, the next a failure. Peter wants the journey of discipleship to be a happy, rosy place where all is well because God is in his life. Unfortunately it is not that simple as having our minds set on ‘divine things’ means that we must be agents of change in this world where ‘human things’ are concerned. Peter is being moulded into the rock that he needs to be although at times he appears as a small stone.

To be an agent of change usually means being counter-cultural and that brings many challenges and ‘crosses’. That is Jesus’ message to his followers – if you are interested in my Kingdom, then that will involve hardship along the way. Why? Because the Kingdom that Jesus proclaims is one where everyone is included, where justice and peace reign and communities are built on the principles of solidarity, mutuality, respect and love. And not just any love, but AGAPE love, i.e. love of people we don’t know and love of people we may not even like. Why is this so hard?
Jesus’ love changes things. It is a radical love, one with no boundaries. To achieve a world where this Kingdom is a reality will most definitely involve going against the grain and therein lie the crosses. Jesus is trying to explain to Peter the path that lies ahead.