22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 2026
There is one word that appears four times in today’s Gospel. Greek – psyche. Translators have a problem with this word, as it is unclear how to render it. Sometimes they translate it as ‘life’, other times as ‘soul’. And that’s not a mistake – that’s the crux of the matter. Because ‘psyche’ means both. Psyche – that’s you. Your life and your soul, all in one word. And that is precisely what Jesus asks us directly today: What are you doing with your psyche? What are you doing with yourself? What are you doing with your life? Peter was convinced that he was protecting Jesus. He took Him aside so that others wouldn’t hear and began to reproach Him. Out of concern. Out of friendship. Out of a natural human instinct: I won’t let them hurt someone I love. That sounds lovely. Jesus turned round and said: ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me’. Harsh. But Jesus does not attack Peter – he attacks the way of thinking that Peter embodies at that moment.
‘For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man’. You think, but at the same time: you cherish these values and let them lead you. Peter values human life and human affairs more highly. And because of this, he becomes an obstacle, even though he wanted to help. These things happen. It is possible to be close to Jesus and yet think entirely in a human way, rather than in a divine way. Now comes this astonishing phrase. Jesus says to his disciples – and to you: ‘For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it’. Let’s pause for a moment on this sentence. The psyche isn’t something you have. It is you. Your desires, your fears, the way you love, your dreams, your identity. All of it together. And Jesus says: if you cling to it, you will lose it. If you give it away, you will find it. It sounds like a paradox. Because it’s a paradox. But think about it – haven’t you experienced this in your own life?
Certainly not when everything was going your way and nobody was asking anything of you. True joy – the deep kind, not the sort that lasts half an hour – came when you gave something of yourself. When you stood by someone, when you told someone the truth even though it was difficult, when you gave up your own comfort for someone else’s sake. You have given something from your psyche – from your life. And even though you lost something, you found more. Jeremiah knew this all too well. He wanted to keep his mouth shut, hide away, stop speaking on God’s behalf – because it was too costly. Daily ridicule, taunts, insults. And he says: I’ve decided that’s it. I shall not speak of Him anymore. And then – and this is one of the most beautiful sentences in the Old Testament – ‘there is in my heart as it were burning fire…’ He couldn’t help but speak. Because once you have dedicated your life to God, there is no turning back. You start to live differently.
Jesus asks: ‘For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul ( psyche)’? The whole world – observers, influence, experiences, pleasures, status, money, the peace of mind that no one will say anything to me. All of it. So, what if you – the real you, your life, your soul – are hungry, empty and lost in the process? You know that feeling. Many of us do. A full phone, a busy weekend, a head full of thoughts, and yet some strange emptiness inside. This is not a psychological problem. It is a spiritual question. It is your soul telling you that it is not being nourished as it should be. Jesus does not say: ‘Renounce yourself and disappear.’ He says: “Take up your cross and follow me”. Your own – not someone else’s. Your own specific soul, your own specific life. And carry them in the direction He points. This is an invitation, not a judgement. After that conversation, Peter didn’t leave. He came back. He learnt to think in a godly way.
It took him a long time; he stumbled many times over. And that’s what built him up, rather than broke him down. Just one question. Answer the question. What do you really protect in your life? And does what you’re protecting give you life – or merely the illusion of life? Jesus knows the answer. And he is waiting for you to want to know it too.