Monday, August 31, 2020
CORONA VIRUS UPDATE AUGUST 31ST, 2020
CORONA VIRUS UPDATE AUGUST 31ST, 2020
Sunday, August 30, 2020
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 124
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.
Alleluia
See EPH 1:17-18
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our hearts,
that we may know what is the hope
that belongs to our call.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
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.”
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
As Christians we will constantly find ourselves in conflict with what we might want and what God wants. The apostle Paul describes it best in his Letter to the Romans:
“For the concern of the flesh is hostility toward God; it does not submit to the law of God, nor can it; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of God in him does not belong to Him.”
When we respond to God’s invitation for us to love Him we are then open to a relationship to Him and are able to be filled with His Spirit. Our lives are then no longer our own and the spirit overcomes the limitations of the flesh. The flesh and the spirit are not compatible. The flesh is of this world while the spirit is beyond this world and is united completely with God. The spirit is representative of that which is eternal and encompasses all that is beyond our earthly existence. Both are present in this life and we are constantly presented with a choice to which we will permit to dictate our choices and have an influence on our experiences in this life and the next. God has given us the power to choose, through the gift of our free will, which part of us will have authority over us: the flesh or the spirit. When we choose spirit then all those things that might interfere or prevent us from having a relationship with God are removed and then the Love of God flows into us with all the benefits and gifts that it can provide. The imperfect becomes perfect. All that was chaos and limited becomes organized and perfect. The perfection brings about a realization of what God wants while the imperfect is brought about by exercising what we want. When we do what we want we will find that it only brings limited satisfaction and earthly stimulation which then quickly leaves us; what remains is an emptiness that affects us in negative way. When we do what God wants there is a satisfaction and spiritual stimulation that remains within us as long as we foster a relationship with Him.
The Prophet Jeremiah describes the conflict that can happen within all of us. When he was called to the Prophetic Office Jeremiah was afraid and resisted the calling. Instead of finding it easy to ignore the call it became stronger and stronger the more he ignored it. It finally became so overwhelming that he had no other choice but to embrace it. His spirituality overcame his free will and he ultimately understood what he had to do. When this happened the conflict that was raging within him subsided and he knew exactly what he had to do. We too can become resistant to the Will of God and can struggle with what we know is God’s Will for us above what we want. This is a natural struggle and one that will come to all of us at one point or another in our lives. When one of these moments arises we must surrender to what God wants instead of what we want. If we truly believe that God is who He is then the answer to what we must do should be very clear. There should be no need for this conflict because, in the end, it will only bring misery. In fact why would we even want to struggle against God who is all powerful? Do we actually think that we can change God’s mind or ignore what He wants for us? In the end God knows what is best for us and if He wants to use us for an instrument then the alternative to that will only lead to a lack of fulfillment. What God wants for us will always bring about a better result than what we want for ourselves.
The Apostle Paul speaks about a renewal of the mind and a transformative experience that can result. This leads to a whole new way of thinking by putting our focus on spiritual things and our own spirituality. Putting God first and what He wants us to do puts ourselves into a right relationship with Him. This leads to a deeper understanding of ourselves and allows us to enter into a deeper relationship with Him. Our lives and our will can then be slowly turned over to Him where we become renewed in the process. All of our priorities will become realigned with God. Our life as we knew it will come to an end and begin anew. This doesn’t only happen once but has the capability of happening repeatedly as long as we continuously put God first above everything else. With that action comes a lifting up of everything in our lives as we embark on a journey to perfection.
Everything physical on this earth is slowly passing away. All things have an expiration date. That which does not is all spiritual in nature. If our thoughts and actions are all focused solely on the material then whatever is produced from these will also come to an end. That which is spiritual is connected fully and completely with God. When we enter into right relationship with Him then all things that come from that relationship establish an eternal foundation which will lead to eternity. We become creators with our God. Together we will create something that will last forever. That which is created will be joyous and loving in nature because that is what emanates from God.
Deacon Tom
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS
As Christians, we are definitely different. That is something that we will have to get used to as we turn our lives over to Jesus Christ. For the most part, we are tolerated and even looked at with a little bit of respect, but then there are those who will ridicule us and mock us because of what we stand for. These negative actions usually do not come from strangers but from those family and friends who cannot rationalize the person who they knew before Jesus Christ and the person that we have become through him. We will be labeled hypocrites, liars, and far worse as we surrender to Jesus Christ. We can take comfort that this is a normal reaction and not an abnormal one. Expect to be judged harshly and expect to be rejected by the ones who thought they knew us best.
What we will experience from other people who we thought we trusted or who we thought we had some sort of relationship with will feel unfair. Their reaction to us will be foreign and it will hurt. It is ironic, at a time in our lives where we feel that we have a real chance at true joy is when we will feel the most abandoned. This will lead to a serious question: If this reaction by people that we have known is what we receive when we receive Jesus Christ, how good of a relationship did we have with them in the first place? Were they even true friends or confidants in the first place?
Know this: For every person that rejects us because of Jesus Christ, there will be countless more who celebrate with us. Jesus speaks of a time when there will be a separation of the weeds from the wheat. We are actually participants in this process. When we accept the presence of Jesus Christ into our lives, we also accept the position of being workers in the field, trudging through the muck and mud of this world to spread the seeds of salvation to all of those who willingly accept it. Some will need to be watered and nurtured more than others while others will sprout forth immediately and stand strong, ready and able to help us in this task. Being a worker usually means that the hard work that we do gets little or no attention from others while genuine moments of appreciation are few and far between. Yet, the only person’s acknowledgement that should really matter is that which comes from Jesus Christ.
Goodness attracts goodness. Love begets love. Those that oppose that which belongs to Jesus Christ will group themselves together in opposition to us while those who stand with us will make themselves known. When we take a step back from this seemingly confusing set of circumstances and bring it to prayer, things will come into focus. There will be a revelation of sorts where the truth will be revealed to us. In reality, it will be displayed that we are in a far better decision than we were before.
By accepting Jesus Christ into our lives, we are naturally transformed. The way that we see things will be different. Change is difficult to accept, even if the change is good, and there will always be a period of discomfort. The Apostle Paul encourages us to look beyond this discomfort and be encouraged by it. There will be a lot of opposing forces to it, led by Satan himself, but ultimately we have Jesus on our side and He definitely has the best of intentions in comparison to all those we are quick to criticize. We need to remember that whatever is against us has power only when we surrender it, for God is the ultimate power and He is our greatest supporter. In the end, what is there really to worry about? Worrying and anxiety is a tool of Satan and blurs our relationship with God while forcing us to distrust Jesus. There is no need for it. Whatever separates us from Jesus Christ is evil. Whatever brings us closer to Him comes from God.
There are always struggles and challenges. They can be divided into two categories. The first would be the struggles of the flesh where we fight to obtain that which is material, thinking that it will lead to joy. These struggles we have actually created ourselves through our thoughts and actions being grounded in this physical world. The other struggles and challenges are rooted in the spiritual. These are presented before us and we are actually invited to participate in them. It is through these that we can better ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually by participating in them. Totally voluntary, these will lead to transformations beyond what we can possibly imagine. When we embrace these and not run away from them, they will then influence everything that comes before us in this physical life. Our thoughts and decisions will then lead to an abundance of rewards.
Deacon Tom
Today’s Gospel strikes a sombre note. Jesus, whose true identity Simon Peter has just acknowledged ('You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God'), goes on to make the first of three announcements concerning his destiny to suffer and die.
The Lectionary provides a way into this paradox by introducing as First Reading a passage from the prophet Jeremiah, 20:7-9. It is this prophet’s painful destiny to have to prophesy the coming of 'violence and ruin' to a people who – understandably – wanted a more positive message. Jeremiah’s attempt to resist his prophetic duty by simply remaining silent led to an anguish within him that was even more painful – 'a fire burning in my heart'. The Lord has led him into a relationship and a vocation from which there is no escape. Hence his striking complaint, 'You have seduced me, Lord'. There is no more poignant portrayal of the prophetic vocation than this. Virtually by definition, a prophet’s role is to unmask the subterfuge and excuses through which people and indeed whole societies seek to hide painful truth from themselves.
PETER STUMBLES
The anguish and tension experienced by Jeremiah is apparent also in the Gospel, Matt 16:21-27. Peter has just given expression to his God-given insight concerning the identity of Jesus and received in response blessing and appointment to a leading role in the church that Jesus will build. But when Jesus goes on to announce that, Son of God though he may be, he is destined to go to Jerusalem to suffer and die, Peter, who had so conspicuously got it right, equally conspicuously stumbles at the truth now being revealed: the more closely as '(beloved) Son' Jesus is related to God, the more closely he must be aligned with the divine will to enter into the pain and suffering of the world, to be the Son of Man who came “not to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many” (20:28).
There is tension, then, between the understanding of Jesus and that of Peter and the other disciples. But, like Jeremiah, Jesus himself is not immune from feeling that tension.
Peter’s remonstrance is not harsh but subtle, 'God forbid, Lord. This sort of thing is not for you' – that is, not for 'the Son of the living God!'.
TEMPTATION
The suggestion is a real temptation, an echo of the third temptation (4:8-9) when Satan had tried to lure Jesus away from his God-given path by proposing an easy route to lordship of the world. Jesus, in fact, turns on Peter here in terms very similar to those with which on that earlier occasion (4:10) he had dismissed Satan: 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me'.
Ironically, the 'Rock' has become a 'stumbling block'; the recipient of divine revelation is now setting (his) mind not on divine things but on human things. The strength of Jesus’ response suggests that the temptation still lingers. It will emerge more powerfully still when, in the garden of Gethsemane, he stands immediately before an extremity of suffering (26:36-46).
Once again, then, we see combined in Peter insight and leadership, on the one hand, and capacity for failure, on the other. His understandable human desire to preserve the Master from suffering actually aligns him with the demonic in a way that would thwart the entire mission. It is no kindness to Jesus – or to the world that he has come to save – to deflect him from the path the Father has set before him.
TAKING UP ONE'S CROSS
So, speaking more generally to all the disciples, Jesus goes on to lay down the conditions for any who want to follow him: it means taking up one’s own cross and losing one’s life in order to find it. This is the path that Jesus must go and the path that all who would seek association with him must also be prepared to embrace.
The fact that the so recently exalted Peter had so much difficulty with it and even that Jesus had difficulty with it should be for us all a source of comfort. Christian discipleship is not Stoic indifference. Both Peter’s remonstrance and Jeremiah’s complaint will often echo in our hearts in the daily struggle to go with Jesus along the costly prophetic way.
St Paul’s appeal in the Second Reading, Rom 12:1-2, is quite close to this. Our 'bodies' in Pauline usage refers not simply to our physical bodies but to our whole pattern of bodily life, everything we do or say. To 'offer (our) bodies' in this sense as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God entails a similar preparedness to discern and follow what is not the way of the world but the way of God.
Brendan Byrne, SJ, FAHA, taught New Testament at Jesuit Theological College, Parkville, Vic., for almost forty years. He is now Emeritus Professor at the University of Divinity (Melbourne). His commentaries on the Gospels can be found at Pauline Books and Media
My sisters and brothers in Christ,
“His name becomes like fire burning in my heart”—this is from our first reading today, from the Prophet Jeremiah. God pursues us just as God pursued the Prophet Jeremiah. Often we do not realize this because we pay no attention to God. Today we are invited to pay attention to God and to know more profoundly how much God loves us and wants us to love Him.
The second reading today is from the Letter to the Romans. Now we are invited to “be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” This can help us understand that we cannot know God’s love for us unless we take time to think about God and to listen to God’s words to us. So many of us do not take the time to read the Bible, the Holy Scriptures, every day. Instead we remain like little children who have no education and only want to play! God invites us to take Him seriously and to begin to read His word in the Bible and to let that word form our lives.
Today’s Gospel, from Saint Matthew, tells us about the relationship of Jesus with His followers. Peter does not want Jesus to suffer. None of us wants others to suffer, for the most part. Yet a human life lived in a way only to avoid suffering is a wasted life. Instead, Jesus invites us to follow Him and to accept the suffering that come with that following.
Jesus tells us in strong words: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” Clearly it is not natural for us to want the cross or to follow someone who will lead us into suffering. Nevertheless, Jesus invites us to know what life really is by following Him.
If we follow the Lord, we will suffer. We will become like the Prophet Jeremiah and complain that following God makes us suffer. We will be like Saint Paul in recognizing that we must be transformed by the renewal of our minds. In the midst of all of this, the name of God can become like fire burning in our hearts and allowing us to rejoice in this life, even in the sufferings, because we are loved by God and know that in following Him, we are returning His love.
Your brother in the Lord,
Abbot Philip
CORONA VIRUS UPDATE AUGUST 30TH 2020
CORONA VIRUS UPDATE AUGUST 30TH 2020
Saturday, August 29, 2020
CORONA VIRUS UPDATE AUGUST 29TH 2020
CORONA VIRUS UPDATE AUGUST 28TH 2020
Friday, August 28, 2020
CORONA VIRUS UPDATE AUGUST 28TH 2020
CORONA VIRUS UPDATE AUGUST 28TH 2020
Thursday, August 27, 2020
CORONA VIRUS UPDATE AUGUST 27TH 2020
CORONA VIRUS UPDATE AUGUST 27TH 2020
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
CORONA VIRUS UPDATE AUGUST 26TH 2020
CORONA VIRUS UPDATE AUGUST 26TH 2020
Tuesday, August 25, 2020
CORONA VIRUS UPDATE AUGUST 25TH 2020
CORONA VIRUS UPDATE AUGUST 25TH 2020
Monday, August 24, 2020
MAKING A POINT
CORONA VIRUS UPDATE AUGUST 24TH 2020
CORONA VIRUS UPDATE AUGUST 24TH 2020
Sunday, August 23, 2020
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 121
Reading 1
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
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 II
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
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
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,
Peter was the first to proclaim that Jesus Christ was the Son of the Living God. This came in the form of Divine Revelation from God and Peter spoke it moved by the Holy Spirit. With that Peter was singled out by Jesus as the one who would be the foundation of the Holy Mother Church here on this earth. From that moment forward the disciples would defer to Peter and would recognize his authority above their own. This would further continue after Jesus’ death and resurrection through the Apostolic Era. It was through Peter that the early Church was organized and the Bishopric of Rome was seen as First Among Equals regarding doctrine and Church Authority. Jesus did not choose Peter because of any unique talent or abilities. In fact he was much older than the other disciples, more emotional, and possessed many faults. Even though this was the case it should be understood that God calls us into service not because of our unique traits and abilities but because He loves us and it is through our imperfections that the Divinity of God is realized. Through the presence of God in our lives His kingdom can be realized. We can be lifted to heights of greatness and God can be realized when we do His will instead of our own.
In many ways we all are like Peter. We are imperfect, doubting, and damaged by sin. Many of us are wounded through our thoughts and actions that have led us astray and away from God. To us this may make us feel unworthy of a relationship or undeserving of good things given to us in our lives. God does not want us to feel that way. What He wants instead is for us to experience a transformation through our relationship with Him and for us to become witnesses to the Power of God in our lives. It is through this process that the Kingdom of God is realized to the rest of the world through us and by us. It doesn’t matter the condition we are in when God calls us forward. God will heal us and strengthen us through His presence so that we will be new creations through our relationship with him. We benefit and everyone around us benefits through this interaction. The only thing we have to do to initiate this process is to accept God into our lives and turn our will over to him. We are the ones resisting. We are the ones struggling against turning our will over to Him. Any negative that comes out of our interaction with Him is ultimately created by us and our lack of trust in the relationship.
We are not special in a singular sense. Instead we are in a collective way. God loves us all the same. To us this may come as bad news but it really isn’t. God loves everyone and He wants all of us spread the Good News that all things that oppose us or make us miserable can be removed through an acceptance of His love. We are all His children and that means we all are offered the opportunity to be beneficiaries of what He has to offer. What God has and what He wants to give us affects us collectively more than individually. It is then that we become instruments to be used to celebrate Him and His love for us. Yes, God knows us personally and what He knows about us does not make Him love us any less. Jesus Christ demonstrated this by giving up His life on the cross so that we may experience redemption and forgiveness of our sins. When this is realized then what was disordered in our lives becomes ordered and we can live our lives as God intended: loving and being loved by Him.
It is through our relationship with God that our greatness and potential can be realized. What is experienced with God will always be superior to that which is experienced without God. Peter was a disciple of Jesus. When Jesus was proclaimed as the Son of God by him he was then lifted up to a position of authority and importance which lasted for the rest of his life. How we react to the presence of God in our lives and in His creation is the defining characteristic regarding how we will experience Him. When we are open to Divine Revelation and spiritual awareness we will then be capable of reaching a higher awareness and understanding of God and who we are in relation to Him. We achieve equilibrium in our lives and begin a journey to perfection with our God.
There is an expectation of how we will react when God reveals Himself to us. The responsibility of how we conduct ourselves afterwards is solely on us. God speaking through the Prophet Isaiah explains this. As quickly as He gives He can remove if we reject what He is offering to us. This removal is not something God wants to do but is something He has to do because it is a question of us not fulfilling expectations and not doing what is asked. God offers a clear path to a joyful life and a loving relationship with Him. He has a plan for us and is constantly offering it to us. As we progress in our relationship we will be in a position to receive more gifts and more guidance. Following God’s plan and what He is telling us to do can only lead to good things in our lives.
Deacon Tom
Today the focus of the readings is on the Church. In fact, the text chosen for the Gospel, Matt 16:13-20, is one of only two places in all the four Gospels where the word 'church' occurs (the other being Matt 18:15-17).
The community of disciples is being equipped with authority and structures that will enable it to function during the time when Jesus will no longer be with them in the human form they have known.
FORESHADOWS PETER'S APPOINTMENT
The First Reading, from Isa 22:19-23, telling of the replacement of Shebna as master of the royal palace by a new official, Eliakim, appropriately foreshadows the appointment of Peter in the Gospel.
It seems to have contributed to some of the language in which that appointment is made: notably, the hand-over of keys – and also perhaps the sense that what the new appointee determines ('opening' and 'closing') will have a definitive higher sanction, not lightly overthrown. Linking the two readings also is the sense of being responsible for a community seen as a 'building': while in charge of the palace, Eliakim is to be a 'father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem' just as Peter will be the 'rock' upon which Jesus will 'build' the community of his church.
In regard to the Gospel itself, what is important to notice is how what is said about the Church (the ecclesiology) flows from what is said (by Peter) about Christ (the Christology). The Church is only what it is because of its perception of who Jesus is. Everything the Church has to say begins and ends with its God-given knowledge of Jesus, the inexhaustible treasure which it holds in trust for the world.
When Jesus questions his disciples about popular perceptions of his identity, their report shows that people can only place him in categories that are familiar and well-worn. The reality requires a much greater leap in imagination and faith.
SIMON PETER RESPONDS
In the person of Simon Peter, the disciples do rise to such heights. Simon’s response, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God', conveys awareness that, beyond being Israel’s Messiah as conventionally understood (a virtuous and effective ruler of David’s line who would restore the fortunes of Israel), Jesus is related to God in a unique way. In his company, the disciples are being drawn into a fellowship with the divine never before imagined or foreseen.
Peter has conferred a title on Jesus. Now Jesus confers, first a blessing, then three roles on him. Simon is 'blessed' not because he is virtuous or otherwise deserving but because God has graciously revealed to him a knowledge that no amount of human understanding ('flesh and blood') could achieve. On this Christological insight, the entire faith of the Church will rest.
The first role Simon receives is indicated by a new name: 'Rock'. The identity between 'Peter' and 'Rock' – masked in English, more evident in Greek (petros, petra) – is perfect in Aramaic, the language Jesus actually spoke: 'You are Kepha (“Rock”) and on this kepha (rocky ground) I will build my church'.
INSIGHT OF FAITH
Peter is not 'rock' because of personal qualities of steadfastness or reliability. The Passion will further expose (26:69-75) his already demonstrated tendency to falter (14:31). He is 'rock' because of the insight of faith which God has communicated to him. Built on this 'rock', the Church will be a community of life. 'Gates of the underworld' is a biblical expression for the realm of the dead as the inevitable destination of all human beings. Its 'gates' will not prevails against the Church either in the sense that, built upon a 'rock,' it will survive all attempts to destroy it or, more likely, in the sense that its members, even though they die physically, will not be held confined within the realm of the dead but will burst through its 'gates' in resurrection (see 27:52-53).
AUTHORITATIVE TEACHING
The gift of keys does not, as commonly thought, make Peter the gatekeeper of heaven, letting in whoever he deems worthy. It, along with the subsequent reference to 'binding' and 'loosing', has to with authoritative teaching: the power to declare in particular circumstances whether a commandment of the Torah is or is not applicable.
Jesus, the Interpreter of the Torah par excellence (Matthew 5-7) leaves his community with a structure of interpretation and assures it of 'heavenly', that is, divine ratification. In this way, the Church, as both expression and foretaste of God’s reign (the 'Kingdom of Heaven') on earth, is equipped to discern and live God’s will in the changing circumstances that will, in the course of history, confront it.
Happily, this text functions less in polemics between Christian denominations than in times past. While it does certainly underwrite much of the Catholic tradition, Catholics need not read it triumphalistically but, along with other Christians, find in it above all an assurance that for all its human weaknesses and failings, the Church guards a supreme treasure and enjoys a divine guarantee.
Brendan Byrne, SJ, FAHA, taught New Testament at Jesuit Theological College, Parkville, Vic., for almost forty years. He is now Emeritus Professor at the University of Divinity (Melbourne). His commentaries on the Gospels can be found at Pauline Books and Media
My sisters and brothers in Christ,
“Who do you say that I am?” –This is a question not only for the early followers of Jesus bur for each of us every day of our life. “Who do you say that I am?”
So many today, even Christians, think of Jesus as a good man and a good moral teacher, but do not consider Him to be God and Lord. For many, there is a real lack of knowledge about what the Scriptures say of Jesus. For the early followers of Jesus, it was clear that if they believed in Jesus, they could only believe in Him as God and Lord. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Scriptures, the fulfillment of the prophecies of a Messiah, of an Anointed One, of the Savior who was to come.
If we want to know who Jesus is, we must begin to know the Scriptures. The first reading today is from the Prophet Isaiah. It tells about Shebna, who is taken out of the office of being in charge of the household of King Hezekiah of Judah—because of his pride. Eliakim is put in his place. The important part of this story is that the one in charge of the household had the keys to everything and was able to make decisions about who could enter and who could leave, what door is opened and what door is closed. This is clearly an important role under the king. If we look at this in terms of the Gospel, then Jesus appoints Peter in charge of the Kingdom of Heaven—in charge of the Church in this life.
The second reading is from the Letter to the Romans. We hear this: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!” Today so many people find it difficult to believe that there is a God and that a God would really be interested in our lives. This is because far too often God is seen simply an a being like ourselves. Western countries in particular have a difficult time in accepting that there is a God and that God is all powerful, all wise, all holy, all knowing, etc. Instead the tendency is reduce God down to a super human and then dismiss God as not really existing.
The Catholic Christian concept of God speaks to the reality of a God who is more than anything that we can imagine, more powerful, capable of all things, loving beyond any love we can imagine, and so on. Jesus comes in our flesh but is truly God. So with the Letter to the Romans, we also should be able to repeat in awe: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!”
This is a God who established a Church so that people can come to know the reality of God and God’s love and mercy. This is a God whose only Son comes to us in love as a Savior. This is a God who is not afraid to put his life in our hands and to give Himself to us in a flawed and deeply human Church which is at the same time infallible and filled with divinity. May this Sunday draw us deeper into these divine mysteries.
Your brother in the Lord,
Abbot Philip