In today’s Gospel reading, Peter reacts like we might! Jesus had been performing mighty acts, great miracles that had people suspecting Jesus was something greater than even a prophet. Peter himself professes that belief as he says, You are the Christ! But then Jesus tells his disciples that he must suffer and die. Peter responds with dismay. God forbid, Lord, no such thing shall ever happen to you. Why did Jesus die on a cross? Our older theology preferred the explanation that human sin had so offended an infinite God that only the sacrifice of Jesus, divine Son, could repair that damage. Today we understand that Jesus, like so many other people throughout human history, became a victim of many of the things that produce the violence we see around us today and in every era — envy, hatred, fear, lust for power.…. Because Jesus died on the cross, when we ourselves become victims, we have a fellow sufferer who understands. And because the cross was not the end of Jesus’ story but the resurrection is, we also have hope in the transformation that came to Jesus and also comes to us through the cross.
– Blog entry by Sister Mary Garascia