You Are the Christ - the Son of the Living God
Sts. Peter & Paul: May you continue to be built into the useful part of the edifice of the Church, just as St. Peter and St. Paul.
During part of the Pentecost liturgy, the bishop blessed a building block that was to be used in the new church. Later in the building process, some of the parishioners were able to sign a steel beam that was going to be used in the construction of the new church. Let us think about all that is involved in building an edifice such as a church. There are many materials needed to construct such a structure. Not all the materials are the same. Some have to be resized or cut to fit into the arrangement. Each piece, even the smallest brick or piece of wood, has a part to play in the coming together of a building. So it is with the structure known as the Mystical Body of Christ, the living Church.
Today we reflect on the lives of two of the persons who became the foundation of the living Church – St. Peter and St. Paul. These two individuals were far from perfect when they were first called to be active parts of the edification-building up of the Church. They needed to be formed into the shape that GOD could use to edify the rest of the Church. We, too, are called to be part of this living edifice.
First Reading: Acts 12:1-11: Now I am sure that the Lord has rescued me from the hand of Herod.
Commentary: The early chapters of the Acts of the Apostles show the earliest Church at Jerusalem being led by Peter. The later chapters recount the mission of Paul to the Gentiles. This story tells of a near disaster, averted by divine intervention. If Peter, as well as James, had been martyred at this early stage, the Church might have been left without leaders and could hardly have survived. It is one of the many accounts of divine intervention to free the apostles from the prisons to which their fearless witness to Christ brought them. Several times, the whole group of apostles had been imprisoned by the Jewish authorities for their witness and miraculously released. This full account is paralleled by the release of Paul from prison in Thessalonika through an earthquake; the stories of Peter and Paul are parallel in many ways. The lesson is that the Holy Spirit was guiding the Church at every stage and was looking after its members as they proclaimed the gospel. The story is superbly told, with the amusing picture of Peter, still half asleep, being guided at every step by the Angel, like a sleepy child, woken up in the middle of the night.
Responsorial Psalm: 34:2-3. 4-5. 6-7. 8-9. From all my terrors, the LORD set me free.
The psalm picks up on the theme of the story of an angel (messenger) of the LORD rescuing the one who faithfully follows the LORD. We proclaim: “The angel of the LORD will rescue those who fear the LORD.” GOD answers those who seek to do GOD’s will. Sometimes, GOD literally frees those who are imprisoned. Even if physical deliverance is not provided, GOD always provides the strength necessary to face the challenges that accompany those who follow the path of the Master-Teacher.
Second Reading: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18: ‘There is laid up for me the crown of righteousness.’
Commentary: Writing to his follower Timothy, Paul sums up and defends his mission, confident in the divine help he has received throughout his trials as an apostle. We do not know what this ‘rescue from the lion’s mouth’ was, but he was shipwrecked several times on his missionary journeys, and also imprisoned, beaten, and flogged by both Jews and Roman authorities. He persevered in his apostolate, but he yearned to be fully united with his Lord and ours. He was very conscious that he and all Christians are baptised into Christ’s death, rise with Christ in his resurrection, and so live with Christ’s life: ‘Life to me, of course, is Christ, and death would be a positive gain’ (Philippians 2.21). He was held back by the positive need for his energetic guidance by the communities he had founded all over the Eastern Mediterranean. The sporting images of ‘the good fight’ and the ‘race’ are typical of Paul. The games were as important as football matches today. He also uses the image of a libation: in Roman society, the first few drops were poured out from a cup of wine, as a symbol of offering to the gods. Paul now feels that he is approaching the end of his journey.
Gospel: Matthew 16:13-19: ‘You are Peter, and I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.’
Commentary: This gospel reading is a turning point in the Gospel. Three times the disciples have been chided for their failure to understand who Jesus is, and now, with an almost perceptible flash of inspiration, Peter replies to the question with a full confession, not merely as in Mark that Jesus is the Messiah, but that he is the son of the living God. Jesus replies by giving him a new name and explaining its meaning. The Aramaic name, Kephas, which Paul still uses (in Galatians 1-2), means ‘Rock’, which enables Jesus to play on the word for the foundation-stone of ‘his assembly’. Is Jesus putting ‘his assembly’, his ekklesia, in parallel with the assembly of God, which was Israel as the People of God in the Old Testament, and saying that his assembly is the new People of God?
To Peter, Jesus also gives the power to bind and loose, by the conjunction of opposites, implying to the Semitic mind that he is giving all power. So much is widely recognised in all catholic teaching. But it is important to recognise that the same promise is made to the community itself in Matthew 18.18, the community discourse, giving it the same authority to bind and loose. To Peter, then, is given the power in the person of the Church.
What is the origin of these promises, which occur only in Matthew’s account of the scene, not in those of Mark and Luke? The same sort of promise is made at the Last Supper in Luke 22.32 and emphatically at the Lake of Galilee in John 21:15-17. Its authenticity in Matthew is increased by the density of Aramaic language from ‘Bar Jona’ in verse 17 onwards, by the punning on the name, and by the Semitic parallelism. It must originate in Aramaic circles.
Reflection: Today, in many churches of the East and West, the Apostles Peter and Paul are commemorated. Both were martyred in Rome in the first century. They tirelessly worked for the spread of the gospel, not only to the people of Israel, but to all the nations as well. They risked their lives in the process and gladly poured out their blood in loyalty to their Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. As Paul so eloquently stated in his second epistle to Timothy, they courageously fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7).
Who do you say I am?: How firm is your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? At an opportune time, Jesus tested his disciples with a crucial question: Who do men say that I am, and who do you say that I am? (Matthew 16:13). Jesus was widely recognized in Israel as a mighty man of God, even being compared with the greatest of the prophets, John the Baptist, Elijah, and Jeremiah. Peter, always quick to respond, exclaimed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Through the gift of faith, Peter recognized that Jesus was the "anointed one" (in Hebrew and Greek the word is translated as Messiah and Christ), and the only begotten Son of God sent by the Father in heaven to redeem a fallen human race. No mortal being could have revealed this to Peter, but only God. Jesus then conferred on Peter authority to govern the church that Jesus would build [which Peter describes as a people redeemed with the precious blood of Christ - First Letter of Peter 1:19], a church that no powers could overcome. Jesus played on Peter's name, which is the same word for "rock" in both Aramaic and Greek.
Spiritual rock and living stones: To call someone a "rock" is one of the greatest compliments. The ancient rabbis had a saying that when God saw Abraham, he exclaimed: "I have discovered a rock to found the world upon." Abraham put his trust in God and made God's word the foundation of his life and the bedrock of his faith. Through Abraham, God established a nation for Himself. Through faith, Peter grasped who Jesus truly was. He was the first apostle to proclaim that Jesus was truly the Anointed One (Messiah and Christ) and the only begotten Son of God.
The New Testament describes the church, the people of God, as a spiritual house and temple of the Holy Spirit, with each member joined together as living stones (see 1 Peter 2:5). Faith in Jesus Christ makes us into rocks - spiritual stones. The Lord Jesus tests each of us personally with the same question: Who do you say that I am?
Lord Jesus, I profess and believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. You are my Lord and my Savior who has set me free from sin and deception. Make my faith strong like the Apostles Peter and Paul, and give me boldness to speak of you to others that they may come to know you as Lord and Savior.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Only by hope, by Basil the Great, 329-379 A.D.
"'Turn, O my soul, into your rest: for the Lord has been bountiful to you' (Psalm 114:7). The brave contestant applies to himself the consoling words, very much like to Paul, when he says: 'I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. For the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice.' These things the prophet also says to himself: Since you have fulfilled sufficiently the course of this life, turn then to your rest, 'for the Lord has been bountiful to you.' For, eternal rest lies before those who have struggled through the present life observant of the laws, a rest not given in payment for a debt owed for their works but provided as a grace of the munificent God for those who have hoped in him." (excerpt from HOMILIES 22)
build up the church: “Peter was thus detained in prison, while the church prayed fervently to God on his behalf.” —Acts 12:5
Because Jesus is God and is Head of the Church, the Church is invincible. For example, St. Peter, the leader of the leaders of the early Church, was miraculously freed from “death row” shortly before King Herod had planned to execute him. St. Paul, the great missionary of the early Church, testified: “I was saved from the lion’s jaws. The Lord will continue to rescue me from all attempts to do me harm and will bring me safe to His heavenly kingdom” (2 Tm 4:17-18). We, likewise, as members of the Church, “are more than conquerors because of Him Who has loved us” (Rm 8:37). The gates of hell cannot prevail against the Church (Mt 16:18).
Nonetheless, the Lord allows His Church to be persecuted. He even lets the members of His Church be martyred. Contrary to appearances, this does not mean that His Church is defeated and not invincible. Rather, it means that the Church is following in the footsteps of her crucified Head (Col 1:18). “You can depend on this: If we have died with Him we shall also live with Him; if we hold out to the end we shall also reign with Him” (2 Tm 2:11-12).
Therefore, rejoice that the Lord has chosen you to be a member of His Body, the invincible, persecuted Church. Love the Church (Eph 5:25). Joyfully and humbly submit to the authority of the Church (see Heb 13:17). Invite as many people as possible to give themselves to Jesus and enter His Church. Take your part in the Church and thereby build the Church.
Prayer: Father, like Jesus, may I lay down my life for the Church (Eph 5:25; cf Acts 12:1-2). “The Lord stood by my side and gave me strength, so that through me the preaching task might be completed and all the nations might hear the gospel.” —2 Tm 4:17. St. Paul had to fraternally correct St. Peter. This brotherly act helped heal the division between Jews and Gentiles (see Gal 2:11-21).
The personal action for today: How do I see the life and ministry of St. Peter and St. Paul as compared to my own life and my call to be a servant to others? Am I strengthened in my faith as I realize how the Lord Jesus transformed these sinful individuals into useful parts of the structure of the Church of GOD? What rough edges in my life does the Lord Jesus need to shape into a form that GOD can use to continue to build up and edify the Church? How can I help inspire and affirm other people and their roles as building blocks in the edifice of GOD?
Saints Peter and Paul: Peter (d. 64?) Saint Mark ends the first half of his Gospel with a triumphant climax. He has recorded doubt, misunderstanding, and the opposition of many to Jesus. Now Peter makes his great confession of faith: “You are the Messiah” (Mark 8:29b). It was one of the many glorious moments in Peter’s life, beginning with the day he was called from his nets along the Sea of Galilee to become a fisher of men for Jesus.
The New Testament clearly shows Peter as the leader of the apostles, chosen by Jesus to have a special relationship with him. With James and John, he was privileged to witness the Transfiguration, the raising of a dead child to life, and the agony in Gethsemane. His mother-in-law was cured by Jesus. He was sent with John to prepare for the last Passover before Jesus’ death. His name is first on every list of apostles.
And to Peter only did Jesus say, “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” (Matthew 16:17b-19).
But the Gospels prove their own trustworthiness by the unflattering details they include about Peter. He clearly had no public relations person. It is a great comfort for ordinary mortals to know that Peter also has his human weakness, even in the presence of Jesus.
He generously gave up all things, yet he can ask in childish self-regard, “What are we going to get for all this?” (see Matthew 19:27). He receives the full force of Christ’s anger when he objects to the idea of a suffering Messiah: “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do” (Matthew 16:23b).
Peter is willing to accept Jesus’ doctrine of forgiveness but suggests a limit of seven times. He walks on the water in faith but sinks in doubt. He refuses to let Jesus wash his feet, then wants his whole body cleansed. He swears at the Last Supper that he will never deny Jesus, and then swears to a servant maid that he has never known the man. He loyally resists the first attempt to arrest Jesus by cutting off Malchus’ ear, but in the end he runs away with the others. In the depth of his sorrow, Jesus looks on him and forgives him, and he goes out and sheds bitter tears. The Risen Jesus told Peter to feed his lambs and his sheep (John 21:15-17).
Paul (d. 64?) If the most well-known preacher today suddenly began preaching that the United States should adopt Marxism and not rely on the Constitution, the angry reaction would help us understand Paul’s life when he started preaching that Christ alone can save us. He had been the most pharisaic of Pharisees, the most legalistic of Mosaic lawyers. Now he suddenly appears to other Jews as a heretical welcomer of Gentiles, a traitor and apostate.
Paul’s central conviction was simple and absolute: Only God can save humanity. No human effort—even the most scrupulous observance of law—can create a human good which we can bring to God as reparation for sin and payment for grace. To be saved from itself, from sin, from the devil, and from death, humanity must open itself completely to the saving power of Jesus.
Paul never lost his love for his Jewish family, though he carried on a lifelong debate with them about the uselessness of the Law without Christ. He reminded the Gentiles that they were grafted on the parent stock of the Jews, who were still God’s chosen people, the children of the promise.
We would probably go to confession to Peter sooner than to
any of the other apostles. He is perhaps a more striking example of the simple
fact of holiness. Jesus says to us as he said, in effect, to Peter: “It is not
you who have chosen me, but I who have chosen you. Peter, it is not human
wisdom that makes it possible for you to believe, but my Father’s revelation.
I, not you, build my Church.” Paul’s experience of the risen Jesus on the road
to Damascus was the driving force that made him one of the most zealous,
dynamic, and courageous ambassadors of Christ the Church has ever had. But
persecution, humiliation, and weakness became his day-by-day carrying of the
cross, material for further transformation. The dying Christ was in him; the
living Christ was his life.
