BASED ON CATHOLIC LITURGICAL READINGS
21ST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A
THEME: “THE MESSIANIC SECRET”
((Readings: 1st: Isa 22:19-23; Ps: 137; 2nd: Rom 11:33-36; Gos: Mt 16:13-20))
Today being the 21st Sunday in the ordinary time, Christ demands to know the public opinion as well as our personal knowledge about him. “Whom do people say I am? Who do you say I am? In response to this question, Peter inspired by the Holy Spirit professed his personal conviction about Jesus, “You are Christ, the son of the living God.” This is called “the messianic Secret” because it is a revelation from the Holy Spirit. It is upon this solemn declaration of Faith in Jesus that Christ affirms Peter to be a rock, a firm foundation on which He will build his church.
Christ gave Peter the keys which are used to open and shut the door a sign of his apostolic and ministerial authority over the entire church of Christ. The first reading from Isaiah gives a detailed description of the investiture of a royal court official. The robe, the sash, and the keys are insignia of this office. Isaiah tells of how the keys of authority were taken away by God from the Shebna, the unfaithful and proud “master of the royal palace” and given to the humble and faithful Eliakim. God exults the lowly and humbles the proud.
In the second reading, St. Paul points out that God is the source of all authority and power on earth and in heaven. Paul praises the wisdom of God and His inscrutable ways of bringing salvation to all people through people. Today as a Church we rejoice because Christ chose Peter to be the rock on which he built his church and invested him with power and authority in spite of his human failings.
What does today Peter´s investiture with power and authority teach us as Christians?
- THE ORIGIN OF THE PAPACY
Historically, the words of Jesus in the Gospel are central to issues of authority in the Church, especially of the authority of the episcopacy and of the Bishop of Rome. Jesus’ promise to build his church on the foundation of Peter is the Catholic basis for the position of the Pope. It is further argued by the Catholic Church that this power given to Peter has descended to all the bishops of Rome throughout all ages and that it exists today in the Pope Francis, who, as the direct successor of Peter, is the head of the Church and the Bishop of Rome. Catholics believe that Peter’s authority passed from Peter to the Popes who followed him.
- THE POWER TO ABSOLVE SINS
The Church teaches that Peter was given the keys which admit a man to heaven or exclude him from it and that Peter was given the power to absolve or not to absolve a man from his sins, the power to bind or lose. In other words, Jesus gave Peter the authority to determine what courses of action would be permitted or forbidden in the Church. In Matt 18:18, Jesus extends this authority to the whole group of disciples, saying, “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Therefore, priests by virtue of their ordination have the power to absolve us from our sins.
- THE TEACHING AUTHORITY OF THE CHURCH
Led by the spirit, Peter was the first to preach Christ to three thousand people at Pentecost (Acts 2) and became the spokesperson for the Council of Jerusalem. The Catholic Church teaches that by giving Peter the “keys” along with the promise that all his decisions would be ratified in heaven, Christ gave him the power of freedom from error when he was officially teaching the universal Church. In other words, Peter received primacy in the Church and the gift of infallibility in his official teaching on matters of faith and morals. Therefore, the teaching of the Fathers of the church on Faith and morals can not err because they have the divine inspiration.
In a nutshell dear friend, today we rejoice that that our church is built on a strong bedrock foundation of the Faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, we can be sure that it cannot be shaken. Even though, we all need to have a personal experience of Jesus Christ in our life besides what we were taught in catechism. “Whom do you say that I am?”. Without this personal witness of Jesus, we are standing on a risky surface in the church and any form of wave wishes shake us and destroy our foundation. May the Holy Spirit to you the person of Jesus Christ in your life.
Prayer: Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Amen
Blessed Sunday (Do you want to become a Divine word missionary? Contact our vocation office +255 629269140 or +254 792 299 140)
“May the heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all People. Amen”
SVD JAMBO KENTAN 