Scripture Reflection - August 31, 2026

Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jeremiah 20:1-7 - Romans 12:1—2    - Matthew 16:21-27

Toward the end of a particularly strenuous workout this week, when I was feeling every muscle and wondering if I had anything left to give, our instructor called out: “Either you have to step up or step back.” So, I hung in there and completed the workout. Those words stayed with me.

Sometimes life asks us to step up—to stretch ourselves, to persevere, to face something difficult rather than run from it. Stepping up takes grit. It asks us to trust both God and ourselves that there is more strength within us than we may realize.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus begins to share with his disciples something they do not want to hear—that he must go to Jerusalem to face suffering and death.  Peter immediately objects. He cannot imagine that this is the path Jesus should take. Peter wants to protect Jesus from suffering. And Jesus responds with those startling words: “Get behind me, Satan.” Jesus remains resolute and steps forward on his journey to Jerusalem.

Peter has his own idea of what it means to follow Jesus. He thinks following Jesus should mean victory, strength, and perhaps even avoiding suffering. But Jesus turns that understanding upside down: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny herself, take up her cross, and follow me.” Jesus is asking Peter—and us—to step up particularly in challenging times.

But notice what Jesus is asking us to step up to. Not simply to work harder, accomplish more, or prove our strength. Jesus asks us to step up to the demands of discipleship: to sacrifice our own needs for another; to remain faithful to the Gospel values of truth, justice and mercy; to speak truth to power; to choose love when it costs us something.

The cross is not something Jesus glorifies for its own sake. The cross reveals the depth of God’s love—a love willing to remain faithful even when following God’s will and way becomes costly. There come times in each of our lives that we have to decide whether we will step up to living the Gospel—to do the hard thing or step back into what is easier or more comfortable.

My gym instructor’s words were spoken during a particularly hard workout, but perhaps they offer a simple question for our spiritual lives: What is God asking of me right now? Will I ask for the grace to step up to the challenge of the moment? Will I quit? Give in to my grief or despair? Or Is this a moment to step up—to be courageous; faithful; generous; forgiving, or persistent?

And wherever that invitation leads, Jesus says simply: “Take up your cross and follow me.”

Not tomorrow. Not when the road becomes easier, but today, one step at a time.

Sr. Terry Rickard, OP