Reading 1 Jer 20:7-9
You duped me, O LORD, and I let myself be duped;
You were too strong for me, and You triumphed.
All the day I am an object of laughter;
everyone mocks me.
Whenever I speak, I must cry out,
violence and outrage is my message;
the word of the LORD has brought me
derision and reproach all the day.
I say to myself, I will not mention Him,
I will speak in His name no more.
But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart,
imprisoned in my bones;
I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9
R. (2b) My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
O God, you are my God whom I seek;
for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary
to see your power and your glory,
For your kindness is a greater good than life;
my lips shall glorify you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus will I bless you while I live;
lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.
As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,
and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
You are my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.
My soul clings fast to you;
your right hand upholds me.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Reading 2 Rom 12:1-2
I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God,
to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.
Do not conform yourselves to this age
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,
that you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and pleasing and perfect.
Gospel Mt 16:21-27
Jesus began to show his disciples
that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly
from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.
Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,
“God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”
He turned and said to Peter,
“Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
Then Jesus said to his disciples,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life”
Or what can one give in exchange for his life?
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory,
and then he will repay all according to his conduct.”
Catholic Fundamentalism Interpretation:
Jeremiah is complaining because God, The Loving Programmer, has overwritten Jeremiah’s human program so thoroughly that he has downloaded a view of reality that has made him a subject of mockery.
Jeremiah’s overwhelming duty is to tell of The Programmer’s future downloads. Those predictions threaten the established order, whose representatives have him publicly punished.
Jeremiah tries to erase the download The Loving Programmer has installed within him, but he can’t get rid of it. The Loving Programmer’s download is so overwhelming that Jeremiah simply can’t help but share it with others.
My innermost being cries for Your downloads, O Loving Programmer.
O Loving Programmer, You are the source of of all, and I seek You. My mind, body, and soul are like a desert without You.
My innermost being cries out for Your downloads, O Loving Programmer.
I have looked toward You in Your Holy Temple, to see Your power and glory.
Your kindness gave us life, so is more important than life. I will glorify You with my own soul, mind, and body.
My innermost being cries for Your downloads, O Loving Programmer.
I will praise You while my human program is on earth. I will lift up my hands to call on Your name.
Then, my soul will be as satisfied as my body is after eating wonderful food.
I will joyfully praise You.
My innermost being cries out for Your downloads, O Loving Programmer.
You provide all the programming assistance that my human program needs. Protected by Your Power, even the partial vision I have of it, I literally shout for joy.
My soul clings fast to You. Your programming power keeps me (and everything) going.
I encourage you, fellow believers, to take advantage of God’s (greatest) mercies, and to thereby offer your bodies as living sacrifices. He, Who lovingly programmed you, will be pleased at your obedience to His teachings.
Don’t let yourself be (mis)guided by the behavior of those around you, but let yourself behave in accord with The New Download that has overwritten the errors in your own, human operating system. Spend your time trying to find out what He wants you to do, (and, do it!), which is doing that which is good, pleasing, and perfect (to Him).
Jesus, The Program in perfect, obedient, human form, began to let His disciples know that He had to go to Jerusalem and be sacrificed as the Lamb. He told them that He, The Program had to suffer at the hands of the Jerusalem establishment and that they would (think they were) erasing The Program. He explained that on the third day, He, The Program, would be restored, and that He would be raised from the dead.
Then, Peter took Him aside, and rebuked Him. “God forbid, Lord! Nothing like that should ever happen to You.”
Jesus turned and said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! You are (becoming) an obstacle to Me. You are not thinking as God, but as His human programs.”
Jesus then said to them: “Anyone, from now on, who wants to come after Me must deny his human desires and wants. He must pick up his own tool of self-sacrifice and follow Me.
(I am telling you what The Program says) Whoever wants to save his life in this world will lose it in the next. But, whoever gives up earthly time, effort, and money for My sake will gain life (in the world to come?).
What good is there in gaining even the whole world and then die for all time?
Think, what can anyone give to God to live forever? For I will be coming back with My angels in The Loving Programmer’s glory, and then, He will give everyone exactly what their conduct deserves.”
