Gospel for August 30 2026 – Matthew 16:21–27
Gospel Reflections for August 30 2026
Nothing will stop Our Lord!
In today’s Gospel, Jesus predicts He will suffer if He travels to Jerusalem.
He knows it is a place of wild emotions and sinful people, and that sinfulness has its source in Satan. Peter and perhaps even other disciples try to convince Our Lord to seek safety instead.
Jesus confronts Peter with some of the strongest words in all the Gospels, “Get behind me, Satan!” Jesus recognizes that seeking safety and security instead of rescuing loved ones in trouble and in need of help is precisely what Satan would like to see. That will not happen with Jesus!
Our Lord knew exactly what kind of world He was coming to when He was born in Bethlehem, and also knows the deadly resistance He will encounter if He travels to Jerusalem. He knows the devastation and destruction that sin, selfishness, greed, immorality, violence, hate, and evil bring to people’s lives. Yet, none of those forces of sin will stop Him.
When Jesus says, “take up your cross and follow me” people then did not see the cross as just a symbol of accepting challenges in your life, but rather the real possibility of …death! After all, no one ever survived crucifixion.
Yet, people in the early Church courageously followed Jesus even knowing they faced a cross. We stand on the shoulders of giants of our faith!
Because Jesus was a real historical person, many people from around the Mediterranean world would walk to the Holy Land. They wanted to see the authentic places where Jesus walked and spoke and performed miracles. Travel was hard in those days, yet nothing would stop these pilgrims from coming to Jerusalem.
For two thousand years, with only occasional interruptions, millions of pilgrims have made the journey to the Holy Land. Later this week, I will join them.
I will be leading 32 pilgrims on my annual two week Archaeological Pilgrimage to Israel and Jordan. We have also had some interruptions over the years, but I am finally glad to be going again. This will be my 20th trip! (You can see more information under the Holy Land Pilgrimage section.)
God chose this troubled land to send His Son, so pilgrims for generations have also chosen to walk the same path as Our Lord.
Nothing will stop Our Lord from seeking your salvation …not even Peter! Nothing will stop Him from rescuing the people He loves …and that means you.
God Bless!
Fr. Dave
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