Deacon Tom Anthony

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 121

Reading 1 Is 22:19-23

Thus says the LORD to Shebna, master of the palace:
"I will thrust you from your office
and pull you down from your station.
On that day I will summon my servant
Eliakim, son of Hilkiah;
I will clothe him with your robe,
and gird him with your sash,
and give over to him your authority.
He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and to the house of Judah.
I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim's shoulder;
when he opens, no one shall shut
when he shuts, no one shall open.
I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot,
to be a place of honor for his family."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8

R. (8bc) Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple.
R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.
I will give thanks to your name,
because of your kindness and your truth:
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.
The LORD is exalted, yet the lowly he sees,
and the proud he knows from afar.
Your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.
R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.

Reading 2 Rom 11:33-36

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord
or who has been his counselor?
Or who has given the Lord anything
that he may be repaid?
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be glory forever. Amen.

Alleluia Mt 16:18

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mt 16:13-20

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and
he asked his disciples,
"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter said in reply,
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus said to him in reply,
"Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Then he strictly ordered his disciples
to tell no one that he was the Christ.

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS

 Who do we say Jesus is? Yes, we do recognize Him as the Son of God. Yes, we do recognize Him as a part of the Holy Trinity where it is through Him that we approach the Father under the love and direction of the Holy Spirit. But there is so much more that we need to focus on. If we do in fact believe these things, how should we as Christians let these statements affect our lives? So often we find ourselves dismissive of Jesus Christ. We worship every Sunday as required and maybe even pray during the day, but is there more that we could do to live out what we believe and profess? I feel the answer is yes and, because of this, the Christian Community has a lot of work to do so as to bring all of us to perfection and to evangelize the faith.

There is a lot of responsibility in being a Christian. It is not only about ourselves but about the entire community and the entirety that is God’s Creation. We are stewards of the earth and are expected to protect it and preserve it with all of its beauty and perfection. We are also stewards of our Fellow Man and are expected to serve as an example to all those we interact with and all of those persons we find under our care. The moment that we recognized Jesus Christ for who He was we surrendered our lives over to Him and what we say and do are no longer our decision alone. Jesus Christ is with us, in us, and is watching over us. There is not one thing that escapes His loving awareness and that is what we have to realize. We are not alone. We are no longer individuals with individual thoughts and needs. Everything should be centered around Jesus Christ and it is through Jesus Christ that our lives will be fulfilled.

God has the capability to lift ourselves up to the highest of heights if only we react to his presence in the proper manner. He has offered us everything if only we are willing to take accept it. That is the beauty of free will: God offers but we do not have to take. In the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, God demonstrates this by taking back what was given to Shebna, the master of the palace, and giving to another because what was expected of him was ignored and not fulfilled. There should be some fear here. Yes, God loves us and wants the best for us but, at the same time, there are certain expectations that He has revealed to us that must be reacted to if we are to live a fulfilling and joyous life. God calls, we are encouraged to accept, and then there will be an abundance of joy. If we refuse, then we risk the chance that we may be lost forever.

Sacred Scripture is filled with the example of successes and failure surrounding the acceptance or rejection of God. God loves us so much that He is constantly inviting us into the relationship of the Trinity but the invitation must be accepted by us and, when it is, there are certain expectations that come with it. We will be subjected to ridicule and pain much the same way Jesus was during His passion. We will be conflicted and filled with doubt, much the same way Jesus was. We will be tempted and diverted. We will be confused and abandoned by our friends. Yet, just as there was the Resurrection after the Passion, we will experience the same thing. As Christian, we are united to Jesus Christ through His Passion and through His Resurrection. Our own Resurrection can be experienced in a spiritual way but there will be some suffering and torment as a result. We will also be placed under scrutiny by  by Jesus. This will be done in a loving way but there will also be some sort of torment as we wrestle with every decision that we make. We are challenged to ask ourselves if what we do and say are bringing us closer or further away from Jesus Christ. There will be confusion and frustration but it will be different than the confusion and frustration that we experienced before. There will be a purpose to it. Jesus will be presenting options to us and, at the same time, showing us the answer. We  have to embrace the answer.

The answer to all of our problems and confusion may be simple but the final decision can be hard. This Free Will of ours is precious. We have enjoyed having it and abusing it at the same time. Jesus asks us if we are truly ready to offer it back to him. There are many before us who have given back while there are also many who have refused to do so. Those who do are united to Jesus Forever. Those who don’t will indeed face consequences.

In the end, where do we want to be?

Deacon Tom