21^st Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); August 27, 2023

Is 22:19-23.  Ps 138.  Rom 11:33-36.  Mt 16:13-20

Deacon Jim McFadden

         Midway through his public ministry, Jesus ventured with his disciples to the northern reaches of the Promised Land, to the region of Caesarea-Philippi, near the present-day Golan Heights, and there he poses a most basic question as he strives to lead his disciples to take a decisive step in their relationship with him.  Jesus’ entire journey with those who follow him, especially the Twelve, is a journey of educating them in their faith.  First of all, he asks: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Mt 16:13).  He wasn’t asking what people thought about his teachings or what impression he was making on the crowds or how they were interpreting his actions.  He wanted to know what they thought about his identity.  The disciples report a whole bunch of different opinions, which perhaps at this stage, they themselves shared.  They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (v. 14). To this question, they offered opinions, talk about Jesus—religious information.

       Though Jesus did indeed formulate religious instructions (cf. the Sermon of the Mount) and though he taught with enormous prophetic witness, he did not want to draw his followers to his words; he wanted to draw people to himself.

       So, Jesus poses a second question, which touches them to the core: “But who do you say that I am?” (v. 15).  Put yourself in this situation: you know a lot about Jesus—catechetical instruction, innumerable homilies over the years, etc.—but now Jesus is gazing into your eye, which is the mirror of your soul, and asks, “Who do you say that I am?”  We can imagine that there would be a long, perhaps uncomfortable pause.  Each one of those disciples, each one of us gathered today at Holy Mass is called to put ourselves on the line, manifesting why we follow Jesus.  There are those who stop at the level of information about Jesus: they talk about Jesus and occasionally attend Mass. 

       Then there are those who talk to Jesus because they have an intimate relationship with him.  They talk to Jesus because they are consciously aware that they dwell within him as a member of his very mystical Body, the Church.  So, they bring their entire life to him, entering into a relationship that is life-giving to the very core of their being because “In him, we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).  This is the decisive step.  This is what interests the Lord: he doesn’t care about how much we know about him, but rather is he the Center of our lives—our thoughts, words, and deeds; is he the referent point of what we ultimately desire in which our lives revolve around him.  In short, are we in love with Jesus?  Is he the ultimate love of our lives.  I think Jesus could care less what opinions we have of him.  Rather, he is interested in our love, whether he is in our heart. 

       For many of us, there may  be a long pause to this question, which explains why the majority of Catholics are not participating in Holy Mass on any given Sunday, which is a day of obligation and not an option!  But for Peter there was no hesitation. Simon seems take his fellow disciples off the hook by declaring forthrightly: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16).  Thank you Peter!  Your answer is spot-on: it’s complete  and utterly luminous.  But however insightful and generous, I don’t think it came from Peter but rather is the fruit of a particular grace of the heavenly Father, which Jesus acknowledges: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.  For flesh and blood as not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father” (v. 17).  To confess that Jesus is Lord and Savior is a grace that comes from our Father.  To say that Jesus is the Son of the living God, that he is the Redeemer, is a grace that we should ask for and then commit ourselves to live out of that relationship.  “Please, Father, give me the grace to confess that Jesus is Lord and empower me through your Holy Spirit to be your Son’s disciple.”

       At the same time, the Lord acknowledges Peter’s prompt response to the inspiration of grace and therefore adds in a solemn tone, “…you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it” (v. 18).  This affirmation is not an afterthought: by giving  Simon a new name, ‘Peter,’  Jesus is recognizing that the  faith Peter has professed in Jesus will be the unshakeable ‘rock’ upon which the Son of Man wishes to build his Church, that is, the living Community, which is his very mystical Body.  And, the Church goes forward in the stormy sea of human history on the basis of Peter’s faith that Jesus recognizes (in Peter) and which makes him the head of the Church—a visible sign of our Catholic unity.  Belief in Jesus and belief in the Church are intertwined and Peter is the foundation of that unity.

       Today, we hear Jesus’ question directed to us in 2023: ‘And you, who do you say that I am?”  Each one of us must not give a theoretical response, but one that involves faith, that is a life that is committed unconditionally to Jesus our Lord.  To answer that question means to listen to the voice of the Father and to be faithful daughter or son of the Church, which gathers around Peter and his successor, Pope Francis.  It really comes down to who Jesus is in our life: are we for or against him?  If he is the “Messiah, the Son of the living God,” then he is the Center of our lives, our life revolves around him, and he is in control.  That is the basis of our commitment the Church, which is “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.”  That is the basis of our commitment on society as “we make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (28:19-20b). 

       Who is Jesus for me?  Who is Jesus for you?  That is an answer we should give and live every day.  Let us ask  Blessed Mary Most Holy because she believed, to be our model and guide on the path of faith in Jesus the Christ. Amen.