[Jeremiah 20:7-9; Psalm 63; Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 16:21-27]

Last week, we heard Jesus say to Peter that it was not ‘flesh and blood that had revealed these things to you, but my Father in heaven.’ This week Jesus tells Peter that he is not speaking with divine revelation when Peter protests about how Jesus would need to suffer. Jesus knew that in order to save mankind from eternal death, that He would have to suffer and die a horrible death. Peter was unable to accept that at that time. Jesus went on to explain that we who follow him, must deny our own wishes and carry out the will of the Father. Jesus, by dying as a man, would then rise from the dead, conquering death to reveal his true Glory as God.

This is a theme which St Paul continues in the extract from the letter to the Romans, we hear today. Paul asks us to present our ‘bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,’ he asks us to do this as a form of worship. So, when we deny ourselves pleasure, we are making an offering to God. We can see this when we fast, by denying ourselves some food and offering this to God; we can become closer to God, knowing that Jesus fasted to prepare Himself for his public ministry and at other key times during his ministry.

One look at me and you can see that I struggle with fasting. I like my food, probably enjoy it too much. For me it is a battle to lose weight. But God sends me helpers. My wife is often very good at challenging me when I go for a late-night snack. When I volunteer at the Foodbank, there is another volunteer who raises her eyebrows when I reach for a biscuit. I have stopped buying a chocolate bar to accompany my lunch due to her gentle challenging. In a few weeks’ time I will be going to Medjugorje again, and there we are encouraged to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. Again, I will take up the challenge and try to bring it home with me. If I am to present my body as a living sacrifice, I must get it into better shape physically and also spiritually. In his letter to the Romans, St Paul tells us ‘Do not be conformed to this world,’ he encourages us to allow God to transform us.

Today, is another day when we hear that God’s ways are different to man’s ways. If we are to understand God’s ways better, we need to work on our relationship with Him. We need to spend time in prayer, in reading Sacred Scripture, spend more time in the presence of God, spend more time serving God by loving our neighbour.

When we examine our relationship with God, do we see an area we need to strengthen? Is it in our prayer life? Do we spend time reading Scripture? Is it in our fasting or lack of fasting? Are we generous to those in need with our time and our resources? Do we spend time in the presence of the Lord?

Each of us knows ourselves best, each of us can see where we need to strengthen our relationship with God. With the final words in today’s Gospel Jesus reminds us that we will be judged when He says – ‘For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.’

Our judgement will be based on what we have done and on what we have failed to do. Each of us needs to ask ourselves, what do I need to do?

Further Reading

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

CCC 618: Christ calls his disciples to take up the Cross and follow him
CCC 555, 1460, 2100: the Cross as the way to Christ’s glory
CCC 2015: way to perfection by way of the Cross
CCC 2427: carrying our cross in daily life[1]

Please accompany in your prayers

  • All those who are sick, either at home or in hospital, especially those who have very few or no visitors.
  • Those who have died and those who grieve for them.
  • The success of the Pastoral Area Mission Plan.
  • Eliana, Ada, Rian and Tobenna who will be baptised at St Bede’s this weekend.
  • The success of the forthcoming Alpha course which will take place in our Pastoral Area.
  • The rescue efforts in Nepal and Tibet following the flash floods
  • Those affected by the incident at the Big Church Festival in West Sussex.
  • All the staff and pupils starting or returning to schools and colleges in the coming weeks.

Deacon Tony

29th August 2026

[1] Homiletic Directory, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments