Homily for the 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, Aug, 27, 2023. Readings: Isaiah 22:19-23; Gospel of St. Matthew 16:13-20. Theme: On This Rock
If someone asked you, “How is the faith of Catholics distinctive from other Christians?” How would you reply? Chances are that you might respond with something like, "We believe in the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist." Or perhaps, "We honor the Blessed Mother and the saints." And while those are good answers, they are not the right ones because the Eastern Orthodox Church and some of the Anglican and Lutheran bodies also believe and do the same. So, what is it then that clearly sets us apart from other Christian churches?
Well, what makes us Catholics distinctive is the office and ministry of our Holy Father, the pope. The New Testament clearly documents that Jesus personally and intentionally established His Church with a tier of leadership. For example, Christ had countless followers but He chose only 12 of them to be His Apostles to whom He gave specialized training and authority to preach and teach in His Name. Then, from among those 12 He appointed one to be the leader of them all. And that makes sense because once Jesus was risen and gone there had to be someone specially called, chosen and gifted by God to call the shots, so to speak, and lead the Christian community. That's what we are hearing about in today’s Gospel.
Jesus starts out by asking his Apostles who they think He is. And it was Simon who gave the correct and supernaturally enlightened reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” In response, Jesus said to him in effect, “Now let me tell you who you are Simon…You are now Peter the Rock and on this rock I will build my church.” And from that moment on, the Scriptures often refer to Simon by this alternative name. This clearly shows us that the leadership ministry of the pope, of whom Peter would be counted as the first, was established by Christ Himself.
Jesus then went on to say that the gates of the netherworld would not prevail against this Church built upon a rock foundation. In biblical language, the phrase “gates of the netherworld” meant destruction and death. Jesus was saying that the community of the Church would not be destroyed nor pass away. And when we look at history we see that no other institution still exists that is as ancient as the Catholic Church. Kingdoms, governments, dynasties and empires have all risen and fallen over the centuries, but the gates of the netherworld have not prevailed against the Church of Christ. And they never will. It has not only remained intact, despite the attempts of enemies from both within and without, but has grown and spread throughout the world.
At the end of today’s Gospel Jesus declared to Peter, “I will give you the keys to the kingdom…” Now, to properly understand what this means we need to go back to the first reading from Isaiah which mentions the office of steward. A steward in ancient Israel was second in command after the King. He acted in place of the king in many situations and was given the keys to the kingdom as a sign of this authority. And so, we can see what Jesus was doing here and what He was referring to in the Hebrew tradition of leadership. He intentionally appointed Peter as His steward in governing the Church. This tells us that the office of pope is a kind of proxy in which the Holy Father is the visible steward of our invisible King and this is why popes are often called the Vicars (Representatives) of Christ. And in exercising this stewardship the Holy Father has the responsibility to enlighten us, to ignite us and to unite us as the Mystical Body of Christ on planet Earth.
First, the pope enlightens us about the teachings of Christ. Our secularized world often misleads us with superficial values and harmful ideologies and agendas. There are so many voices clamoring for our allegiance and so we need to be able to hear the voice of Christ clearly in the midst of all the noise. The pope does not and cannot invent new doctrines, but guided by the Holy Spirit as Christ promised, he faithfully applies Gospel teachings to the various issues and needs of the times in which we live. By listening to him we can walk by the light of Christ through the darkness and confusion that often surrounds us.
Second, the pope strives to ignite us, that is, to set our hearts on fire for Christ. By his encouraging words and hopefully equally encouraging example, the Holy Father calls us to grow deeper in our relationship with Jesus through prayer, the Sacraments, reading the Gospels and giving service to the needy, to the suffering, and to the outcast. He cheers us on, so to speak, to never give up on trying to become more like Jesus. He encourages us to allow Christ to touch every aspect of our lives - personal, social, economic and political - so that the Gospel can be an influence for good, promoting peace and justice in the world through us.
Thirdly, the office of pope is meant to unite us. He is the spiritual father of a worldwide Church of over one billion persons and as such he has the task of keeping us united as one spiritual family, one Body of Christ. The papal office is meant to remind us that we are not isolated individuals, we are not competitive parishes, we are not autonomous dioceses. We are one Church, gathered around one Lord, professing one Faith, and led by one earthly shepherd. And this is why at every Mass celebrated throughout the world, we Catholics always pray for the pope and for our unity with him right after the consecration of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. For it is the one Eucharist we all share that is the real source and bond of our unity.
You know, I’m an avid student of Church history and right now I am in the midst of a 36 week course on the history of the papacy. And I have to say that the more I learn about the vast array of sinners as well as saints who have been elected pope, the more convinced I am that the Church is truly founded upon a solid foundation and that its gates have indeed been shut tight against the netherworld. And I truly praise God for the gift of the papacy that began on that world-changing day at Caesarea Philippi 2,000 years ago when Simon the Fisherman became Peter the Rock.
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