Upside down, boy you turn me.
Inside out and round and round.
Upside down, boy you turn me.
Inside out and round and round.[1]

A man decided to help with the laundry. He put the clothes in the washing machine, added detergent, shut the lid, and then stood there staring at all the buttons. There were settings for normal, delicate, permanent press, heavy duty, quick wash, and several others he didn't understand. He thought, “Laundry can't be that complicated.” So he chose a setting that sounded impressive: “Heavy Duty.” He figured, If clean is good, really clean must be better.

The washing machine started shaking. Then it began to thump. Then it started walking across the laundry room. He grabbed the machine and yelled, “What's wrong with you?” His wife came running in and said, “What did you put in there?” He proudly answered, “Your good clothes.”
There was a long silence. Then came the question every husband learns to fear: “And what setting did you use?” He pointed to the button that said, “Heavy duty.” With a gasp, his wife looked at him and said, “What were you thinking? That's for bedding and towels. Upside down, boy you turn me. Inside out and round and round.”

“Upside down, boy you turn me. Inside out and round and round,” are the lyrics to a song that most people recognize. Sung by Diana Ross in 1980 with Motown Records, her voice and lyrics began a legacy. As is the case for most in the spotlight, the personal life of the performer becomes intertwined. Her marriage seemed at first a fairytale of true love, but somewhere, round and round, and upside down, it fell apart due to infidelity. The pain of divorce, the pain of being estranged, the pain of losing stardom and the pain of financial loss tossed her inside out and around and round. At the supreme part of her life, she probably never imagined what could happen. There was some redemption in her older life when some of her successors respected her enough to include her in their music as a cameo. The hip-hop artist, P-Diddy included her in his album hit, “Mo Money, Mo problems” where she was able to relate her own life to such a downturn. Ironically, he was sentenced to five years in prison last year, for human trafficking. Others, such as, Brandi, Beyonce, Alecia Keys and Halle Berry looked up to Diana who also could relate to fallen stardom. They all tried to determine how their lives should work out, as if they were turning the knob for a particular outcome.
In the Gospel account today, Peter is the star of the disciples. Jesus told them all that the Church would be built on Peter. He was the “rock”. Maybe this went to his head when he told Jesus he would not die, not under his watch. Peter isn't being foolish because he doesn't care about Jesus. He's being foolish because he loves Jesus and thinks he knows what the proper setting should be. Jesus says that Jerusalem means suffering, rejection, death and ultimately resurrection. And Peter essentially says, “No, Lord. That's not how this is going to work. I've got a better plan.” Peter wants to change the setting. And Jesus' response is startlingly strong: “Get behind me, Satan!” That's not Jesus gently saying, “Peter, I appreciate your concern, but I have another perspective.” It's a rebuke.

Peter is trying to tell Jesus how the story is supposed to turn out. And Jesus makes clear that Peter is thinking from a human perspective rather than God's perspective: “You are a hindrance to me, for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Peter has the wrong setting. He's looking at Jesus' prediction and thinking, “That's the wrong cycle. That's not the way this is supposed to work. Surely there's a better setting.” Jesus isn't confused about the outcome. Peter is.

Perhaps that is why Peter, upon the day of his dreadful persecution, when his captors decided he, too, would be crucified, chose to be crucified upside down.

Sometimes following Jesus feels upside down and inside out because we keep trying to set the machine ourselves. We want the “no suffering” setting.
The “everything works out the way I planned” setting.
The “Christianity makes my life easier” setting.
The “I know where God is taking me” setting.

But Jesus says: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” In other words, discipleship doesn't mean we get to choose the cycle. And if you've ever tried to stop a washing machine in the middle of its cycle because you suddenly realized you had made a terrible mistake, you know the machine doesn't always respond to your panic. Sometimes you just have to let it finish.

Sometimes faith is like that. We want to reach into God's plans, rearrange everything, and say, “Lord, I think I can make this come out better.” And Jesus says, “Peter, get behind me. Follow me.” You don't have to know how the story ends. You just have to follow the One who does.” Boy, does Jesus know how to turn us, and that is sometimes troubling because it makes us feel inside out, and upside down.

[1] Diana Ross, “Upside Down” Motown Records, 1980.
[2] Matthew 16:21-28
[3] Exodus 3:1-15