We often function under the assumption that we know God - we know Jesus. But do we really know HIM? Poor old Peter thought that he knew who Jesus really was. In fact, his answer to that enigmatic question received a resounding confirmation from Jesus Himself. And yet, Peter, continued to have certain reservations about the person of Jesus. He wanted Jesus to fit that identity, image and role which he had firmly designated. In his agenda, Jesus was not going to die. He was trying to make Jesus fit his own image - he was making God in his own image rather than being made in God's image. Peter was prepared to accept a Messiah, but was not prepared to accept the cross that came with the role. A Jesus or a God tailor-made to suit our own purposes or agenda quickly becomes an idol to be destroyed. That was the reason why Peter's assumptions at the end of this Gospel reading received such a stern reprimand from Jesus.

There are many forms of idolatry, many ways of making God extremely neat, tidy, and supportive of our own self-interest; all of them "domesticate" God to the point where the person who accepts one image or rejects another is in total charge. Such idolatry protects aspects of self-interest without appearing to do so. Perhaps, this poses the greatest threat to our well-intentioned faith.