TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (2023)
Readings:
Isaiah 22:15, 19-23
Psalms 138:1-3, 6, 8
Romans 11:33-36
Matthew 16;13-20
There is no mention in the gospels of the ordinary conversations which surely must have taken place between Jesus and His apostles when they were making their way between the many towns and villages that Jesus was intent on visiting. I am talking here of ordinary small talk, not the famous conversations on the mountain (Sermon on the Mount), or the conversations surrounding a momentous miracle (like John’s Raising of Lazarus). I am talking about the banter that must have occurred as the group traveled together for nearly three years. The banter never really made it into the gospels. Not that it might not have been truly interesting, but it was largely forgotten in the decades which separated the gospels’ creation from the death of Jesus. The gospels were not meant to be a travelogue; they were meant to engender faith.
Matthew’s gospel today does recount one of those very memorable conversations that is immortalized in all three synoptic gospels (Mark, Matthew, Luke). In Mark it falls in the exact middle of his gospel, a noteworthy position. In Matthew’s account it is roughly in the middle of his gospel, and he knew it was an important enough exchange that he would borrow it from Mark and place it in his sixteenth chapter, a chapter which gives us a wealth of insight into who Jesus is, a chapter whose ending will form the content of next Sunday’s gospel.
One can easily imagine a time during the perambulations of the Apostles and Jesus, that Jesus would be interested in what people thought of Him, and more importantly He would be interested in what His hand-picked band of brothers thought of Him – was Jesus getting through to those who had seen and heard so much? Notice the shift that takes place in the gospel, from what others thought of Jesus – “some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” – to what the apostles themselves thought of Jesus. It is as if Jesus is saying, I have invited you into my inner circle, I have drawn you close to my heart, I shield nothing from your gaze, I now want to know what you think: “Who do yousay that I am?”
It is not surprising that the chief among the apostles, Simon Peter responds quickly and with conviction a remarkable confession of faith: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus is pleased with Peter’s messianic laden response and calls Peter “blessed,” assuring him “that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.” We believe that the Church, which was in its formative stages when the gospel of Matthew was written, is the same church of which we are a part of today. It is a Church whose human dimensions often obscure its primary function of spreading the Gospel of Christ.
Did Peter understand fully the implications of his profession of faith? At this stage there is a good chance he didn’t. We need only look beyond this insightful story to see Peter at his worst in next week’s gospel, or fast forward to Peter’s denial of even knowing Jesus, or see him drawing his sword in the Garden of Gethsemane. It is perhaps because Peter is so flawed in the gospels that he made the perfect candidate to be the foundation stone of the Church. Peter, and Jesus, are aware of his foibles and idiosyncrasies, but those foibles are never a reason for the grace that comes from above to keep flowing, transforming those it touches from ordinary Christians to superlative Christians, Christians who can be an example for others. “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are His judgments and how unsearchable His ways!” (Romans 11:33). May the example of Peter be for us a cause for our faith to grow stronger and more insightful, and let us be patient with our own idiosyncrasies and foibles, knowing that God’s grace can reach and transform us.
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