Thinking not as God does but as human beings do

 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

“You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do”

Jesus makes sure his Apostles see and hear him rebuke Peter with failing to think as God does.  And often that is a rebuke.  We struggle with thinking like fallen human beings.  It is the sin of pride.  And Peter falls into that trap in today’s Gospel.

But I know that there is also a flip side to this “mind of God” vs. “mind of man” struggle.  The positive side of this is that we could never, in our smallness, get our minds completely wrapped around how much God loves us.  

We can certainly grow in that understanding, particularly through prayer nourished by frequent reception of the Sacraments and seeking the face of God in the poor, but our minds literally are not able to process how much God loves us.

And I would like to finish with a story from this week.  I received a letter earlier in the week from my niece and goddaughter Lucy who is 8.  Her note read “Dear Father John.  How are you doing?  I love you with my whole heart!  I hope to see you soon.  Maybe this Fall?  P.S. would you like to go to the apple orchard with me?”  Needless to say, It was immediately arranged and 2 days ago I met lots of my nieces and nephews and siblings and their spouses for an awesome gathering at an apple orchard.

Lucy and my nieces and nephews simply cannot fathom how much I love them.  It is the same for us and God.  We cannot fathom how much God loves us, but we can pray that we can grow in our comprehension of that love, and indeed in some ways prayer is precisely THINKING about how we cannot fathom God’s love, and being content with just sitting and basking in that love.