21st Sunday
Ordinary Time (A)
Matthew 16:13-20
This Sunday’s Readings
First Reading
1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9,12-13,22-23
David does not kill Saul.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 103:1-4,8,10,12-13
A song in praise of God’s mercy
Second Reading
1 Corinthians 15:45-49
As we bear the image of Adam, so we will bear the image of the one from heaven.
Gospel Reading
Luke 6:27-38
Jesus teaches his disciples to be merciful as God is merciful.
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said, ‘the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’ Then he gave the disciples strict orders not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
Background on the Gospel Reading
Today’s gospel reading is a continuation of the teaching that began in last Sunday’s gospel. We continue to hear Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain. Recall that in Luke’s Gospel, this teaching is addressed to Jesus’ disciples. This is in contrast to the parallel found in Matthew’s Gospel, the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus’ words are addressed to both the disciples and to the crowds.
These words from Jesus’ teaching are familiar to us. They constitute the crux and the challenge of what it means to be a disciple: Love your enemies, turn the other cheek, give to those who ask, do unto others, lend without expecting repayment, judge not lest you be judged.
There are several similarities between Luke’s and Matthew’s report of Jesus’ great teaching. Both begin with the Beatitudes. Matthew includes nearly all the content that Luke does; the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel is longer than Luke’s Sermon on the Plain. There are, however, differences in language and nuance. For example, Matthew presents this portion of the teaching as a contrast between Jesus’ teaching and the teachings of the law and the prophets. This is in keeping with Matthew’s concern to address his predominantly Jewish audience. It is likely that Luke omits this contrast because it was unnecessary for the Gentile believers for whom Luke is writing.
Another point of contrast between Matthew and Luke’s presentation is the terminology. In Luke, Jesus contrasts the behavior of his followers with the behavior of “sinners.” In Matthew, Jesus contrasts the behavior desired with the behavior of tax collectors and Gentiles. Matthew concludes the teaching about love of enemies with the admonition to be perfect as God is perfect; Luke concludes by emphasizing God’s mercy.
In both Gospels, Jesus’ words challenge those who would follow him to be more like God. God loves us beyond our expectations, beyond anything we can possibly imagine. In response to God’s love, we are to love as God loves, beyond expectations and with a depth beyond imagining.
OUR IMAGE OF JESUS
José Antonio Pagola
Jesus’ question: «Who do you say I am?», goes on asking believers still of our time for an answer. Not all of us have the same image of Jesus. And that’s not just because of the inexhaustible character of his personality, but above all because each one of us goes about elaborating our image of Jesus based on our interests and concerns, conditioned by our personal psychology and the social circle we belong to, and marked by the religious formation we have received.
And yet, the image of Christ that each of us can have has a decisive importance for our life, since it conditions our way of understanding and living out our faith. An image of Jesus that is impoverished, unilateral, partial or false will lead us to a way of living our faith that is impoverished, unilateral, partial or false. That’s why it’s so important to avoid possible deformations of our vision of Jesus and to purify our attachment to him.
On the other hand, it’s purely illusion to think that one believes in Jesus Christ because one «believes» in a dogma or one is disposed to believe «in what Holy Mother the Church believes». In reality, each believer believes in what he believes, that is to say, in what he personally goes about discovering in his following of Jesus Christ, although naturally he does it inside of the Christian community.
Unfortunately, there are all too many Christians who understand and live out their religion in such a way that probably they would never have even a smidgen of a lived experience of what it means to personally encounter Christ.
Already in a very early moment of their life they have had a childish image of Jesus, when they probably haven’t yet raised with sufficient clarity the questions to which Jesus can respond.
Later on they no longer went back to think about their faith in Jesus Christ again, maybe because they consider it something trivial and without any importance for their lives, maybe because they don’t dare to examine it seriously and rigorously, maybe because they are happy with preserving it indifferently and apathetically, without any echo in their being.
Unfortunately they don’t suspect what Jesus could be for them. Marcel Legaut wrote a harsh phrase, but maybe one that’s right on: «Those Christians ignore who Jesus is and are condemned by their own religion to never ever discover him».
José Antonio Pagola
https://www.gruposdejesus.com
Who do you say that I am?
Pope Francis
Today in the Gospel (cf. Mt 16, 13-20), Jesus asks the disciples a good question: “Who do men say that the Son of man is?” (v. 13).
It is a question we too can ask ourselves: what do people say about Jesus? In general, good things. Many see him as a great teacher, as a special person: good, righteous, consistent, courageous… But is this enough to understand who He is, and above all, is it enough for Jesus? It seems not. If He were simply a person from the past — just as the figures cited in the same Gospel, John the Baptist, Moses, Elijah and the great prophets were for the people — He would merely be a good memory of a bygone time. And for Jesus, this will not do. Therefore, immediately afterwards, the Lord asks the disciples the decisive question: “But who do you — you! — say that I am?” (v. 15). Who am I for you, now? Jesus does not want to be a key figure from the past; He wants to be an important person for you today, of my today; not a distant prophet: Jesus wants to be the God who is close to us!
Christ, brothers and sisters, is not a memory of the past, but the God of the present. If He were merely an historical figure, to imitate Him today would be impossible: we would find ourselves faced with the great chasm of time, and above all, faced with his example, which is like a very high, unscalable mountain; we want to climb it, but lack the ability and the necessary means. Instead, Jesus is alive: let us remember this. Jesus is alive, Jesus lives in the Church, He lives in the world, Jesus accompanies us, Jesus is by our side, He offers us His Word, He offers us His grace, which enlighten and refresh us on the journey. He, an expert and wise guide, is happy to accompany us on the most difficult paths and the steepest slopes.
Dear brothers and sisters, we are not alone on the path of life, because Christ is with us. Christ helps us to walk, as He did with Peter and the other disciples. It is precisely Peter, in today’s Gospel, who understands this, and by grace recognizes in Jesus “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16): “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”, says Peter; He is not a character from the past, but the Christ, that is, the Messiah, the awaited one; not a deceased hero, but the Son of the living God, made man and come to share the joys and the labours of our journey. Let us not be discouraged if at times the peak of Christian life seems too high and the path too steep. Let us look to Jesus, always; let us look to Jesus who walks beside us, who welcomes our frailties, shares our efforts and rests his firm and gentle arm on our weak shoulders. With Him close at hand, let us also reach out to one another and renew our trust. With Jesus, what seems impossible on our own is no longer so; with Jesus we can go forth!
Today it will do us good to repeat the decisive question that comes out of his mouth: “Who do you say I am” (cf. v. 15). “Who do you — Jesus says to you — who do you say that I am?”. Let us hear the voice of Jesus, who asks us this question. In other words: who is Jesus for me? An important figure, a point of reference, an unattainable model? Or is He God the Son, who walks by my side, who can lead me to the peak of holiness, that I cannot reach by myself? Is Jesus truly alive in my life, does Jesus live with me? Is He my Lord? Do I entrust myself to Him in moments of difficulty? Do I cultivate his presence through the Word, through the Sacraments? Do I let myself be guided by Him, together with my brothers and sisters, in the community?
May Mary, Mother of the way, help us to feel her Son alive and present beside us.
Angelus 27/08/2023
A DISCOVERY THAT CHANGES YOUR NAME AND YOUR LIVE
Fernando Armellini
Introduction
A mugshot of Christ on the ‘wanted’ list: long hair, untrimmed beard, a marginalized friend, herald of a revolutionary message, frowned upon by the powers-that-be, circulated at the end of the 60s. It was the Jesus of the protesters. It made its appearance alongside themystic who was attracted by the religious devotions and spiritual intimacy.
The triumphant Jesus also had his time, between banners and flags: He was the ‘conqueror of kingdoms’ and the protector of the rulers of this world. The Jesus of religion is the most rustproof. He guarantees justice, awards the good, protects the pious and punishes the wicked. Sometimes someone relegates him to the role of a bogeyman or bugbear for children who misbehave. He is still the helpful guarantor of moral behavior deemed to be a positive influence.
Jesus is a character that everyone seems to want to yank onto their side. There is alsothe Jesus that we have carried within us ever since our childhood years. He has sometimes been presented to us by well-meaning catechists as a Jesus that would never have convinced us to follow him to the end. There have been times in our life when he did not have much more to say to us.
After 2,000 years, he has never ceased to provoke and question everybody, as he did one day near Caesarea Philippi. He urges us with a puzzling question: “Who do you say Iam?” In front of so many conflicting images of him, it is challenging to select the authentic one.
First Reading: Isaiah 22:19-23
Thus says the Lord to Shebna, master of the palace: “I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station. On that day I will summon my servantEliakim, son of Hilkiah; I will clothe him with your robe, and gird him with your sash, and give over to him your authority. He shall be a father to the inhabitants ofJerusalem, and to the house of Judah. I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim’s shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut, when he shuts, no one shall open. I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot, to be a place of honor for his family.”
The fact referred to this prophecy is well known. King Hezekiah (8th century B.C.)—a good man but also somewhat naïve—has chosen Shebna as a butler. He was an opportunistand corrupt, who used public money to build his own splendid mausoleum. He was also anintriguing humbug who, against the opinion of Isaiah, advocated an alliance with Egypt.Shebna was deposed and his place taken by Eliakim, son of Hilkiah. Isaiah approved this wise decision: Eliakim was honest, capable, and politically reliable. The prophet speaks of him in glowing terms: “He will be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the people of Judah” (v. 21).
The episode interests us because it gives information on the ceremonial way powerwas conferred on a new butler. The king tore the cloak and belt of the man who had shown himself incompetent and handed them over to the new charge. He was clothed in the robesof his predecessor, wrapped with his scarf, and decorated with his symbol. Finally, the keysof the palace were given to him (vv. 20-22).
Receiving the keys equated to receiving all authority over palace life, administeringthe assets of the sovereign, and deciding who could be received in audience. The passagecloses with two other images that herald the status which Eliakim will be accorded. He willbe as a peg firmly stuck in a wall and as a throne of which all his family can boast (v. 23).
It seems that the prophet foresees for him a brilliant career. However, he is announcinghis political sunset. In the following verses (vv. 24-25—not reported in the reading), Isaiah describes, with subtle irony, the dishonorable end of Eliakim. To him—he says—“will hang the load of his father’s house-offspring and descendants, all the little vessels from bowls to jars. The peg fastened in a sure spot will give way: it will be cut down and the load hanging on it will fall.” It is a satirical presentation of the sad consequences of the nepotism to which Eliakim will unfortunately yield. He will take advantage of his position to encourage relatives, friends and offspring who cling to him but ultimately become an intolerable burden: ‘the peg’ will give way, and all those tied to it will fall and be shattered. Poor Eliakim, a good man ruined by power!
Second Reading: Romans 11:33-36
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor? Or who has given the Lord anything that he may be repaid? For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him beglory forever. Amen.
The passage concludes the lengthy exposition of the problem that has so distressedPaul. His people refused to recognize in Jesus the Messiah of God. We have seen that the infidelity of Israel has had a positive side. It has allowed the pagans to enter and be part of the Church. The persecution of the Jews forced the disciples to leave Jerusalem, disperse tothe world, and proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 11:19-21).
Faced with this ‘ability’ of God in guiding events of history and bringing good even out of evil, Paul exclaims: “How deep are the riches, the wisdom, and knowledge of God. His decisions cannot be explained, nor his ways understood” (v. 33). The designs of the Lord are incomprehensible and unpredictable, not only in the history of people but also in everyone’s life.
The enigma of evil has always plagued humanity, and no mind, no matter how enlightened, has been able to give a convincing explanation. Even in the book of Job,where the problem is directly addressed, no answer is given. Paul invites us to bow before the mystery and humbly recognize that God’s ways are ‘unsearchable.’ There is but one certainty given by faith: everything that happens is guided by the love of the Father andevery event, even the most dramatic, still makes sense.
Gospel: Matthew 16:13-20
We know very well how to distinguish a friend from a co-worker, playmates, bar friends, or sports fans. The feelings we have for a girl we just met are different from those for a girlfriend or a bride. When one is involved in love it triggers the mechanism of jealousy. The torment of one who fears losing the person loved, of one who does not tolerate rivals, shows. “Wrath is cruel and anger, impulsive but who can withstand jealousy?” (Pro 27:4); it shortens your life; worry makes you old before time (Sir 30:24).
Even God is “jealous” because no one more than him is enamored of the human being. For dozens of times in the Old Testament, the expressions echo: “For I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God” (Ex 20:5). “I am intensely jealous for Zion” (Zec 8:2). “Then the fire of my jealous wrath will burn the whole land” (Zep 3:8). God demands exclusive love that involves all your heart, all your soul, all your strength (Dt 6:6); in the human heart, there should be a place only for him.This love, without reserve, is also claimed by Christ: “If you come to me, unwilling to sacrifice your love for your father and mother, your spouse and children, your brothers and sisters, and indeed yourself, you cannot be my disciple” (Lk 14:26). Nothing must be placed before him, not even the most natural affection. This is the meaning of the paradoxical image he used.
One day, near the city of Philippi, founded by one of the sons of Herod the Great in the extreme north of the country, Jesus addresses two questions to the apostles. The first is simple enough: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” The second is more challenging: “Who do you say I am?” .
The circulating opinions draw him near eminent personalities: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, the ancient prophets (vv. 13-14).
The admiration of people of all times for Jesus cannot be denied. However, the esteem and veneration are not enough. He is not the embodiment, the materialization of excellent values, typically pursued by all people of good will. He is not one of the many who has distinguished themselves for their honesty and loyalty, love for the poor, the commitment to justice, peace, and non-violence.
Already as a man, Jesus outdistances them all because he does not follow human tactics and strategies. It’s enough to consider the choices he has made: to have waited for maturity to begin his mission, to have given priority to the hidden life, to be gradually revealing his project only to intimates, to having overturned all human logic till he offered his life, and to make the defeat his triumph. But even this is not enough to be considered “disciples” by him. A disciple is one who has understood that he is unique, as unique as the person to whom one falls in love, to whom one trusts and for whom one is willing to do anything.
It is at this point that Peter intervenes with the surprising answer. He speaks in the name of all and shows to have understood everything. He says to him: “You are the Christ,” you are Messiah, the Savior of which the prophets spoke about and all our people are waiting for (v. 16). You are the one for whom we are willing to wager our life.
It is difficult to find a more exact answer, but in the last verse of the passage (v. 20), the evangelist reminds that Jesus sternly imposes silence on the disciples, as he has already done with the demons. The reason is simple. Peter gave a correct answer only in form. What he actually has in mind is a completely distorted idea. He is convinced that Jesus is about to begin the Kingdom of God on earth and thinks that he will implement this through a show of force, wonders, and signs that will require the attention of all. He is certain that he will get a resounding success. This is also the opinion of the other disciples who, despite having understood something more than the crowds, they are still prisoners of the common mentality that evaluates life’s success based on triumphs. No one has yet realized that, from the outset, the Master has considered diabolical the proposal to seize power and rule over the kingdoms of this world.
In the second part of the passage (vv. 17-20), the answer of Jesus to Simon is referred to: “You are Peter,and on this rock, I will build my Church …”
The interpretation of these words is more difficult than it looks. Why and in what sense is Simon called “rock” on which the Church is built? A simple statement of the primacy of the pope? No, much more than that.
Let us start to make two observations that may help us better understand this important text.
First of all, we note that the “rock” as a basis of the Church is talked about other times in the New Testament. This solid, immovable “rock,” is always and only Christ. Paul says: “No one can lay a foundation other than the one which is already laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 3:11). The Christians of the communities of Asia Minor are reminded of their glorious condition: “Now you are no longer strangers or guests, but fellow citizens of the holy people; you are of the household of God. You are the house whose foundations are the apostles and prophets, and whose cornerstone is Christ Jesus. In him, the whole structure is joined together, and rises, to be a holy temple, in the Lord” (Eph 2:19-21). Peter is even more explicit. In his first letter, he invites the newly baptized to never break away from Christ because he is the living “rock,” rejected by people, but chosen and precious in the sight of God. Then he develops the image and turning to the Christians he says: “You, too, become the living stones built into a spiritual temple,” united as you are to “the chosen and precious cornerstone” placed by God on Easter day, as a foundation of the whole building (1 Pt 2:4-6).
The second observation is that the name given to Simon—Cephas-Peter—in Aramaic (the language spoken by Jesus) in all probability does not mean the rock, but just a building stone.
If things are in these terms, the stone which Jesus speaks of is the faith professed by Peter. This faith constitutes the foundation of the Church, which keeps it united with Christ-rock, makes it indestructible and allows it to never be overwhelmed by the forces of evil. All those who, like Peter and with Peter profess this faith, are inserted, as living stones, in the spiritual building designed by God.
The expression, “the gates of hell,” should not be interpreted literally. These gates represent the power of evil. They indicate everything that is opposed to life and to the human good. Nothing ever—ensures Jesus—can prevent the Church to complete her work of salvation, provided that she is always closely united to him, the Son of the living God.
Peter also receives the keys and the power of binding and loosing. Prior to clarifying the meaning of these two images, frequently used by the rabbis, we note that the power of binding and loosing is not reserved for Peter alone, but is given soon after, to the whole community (Mt 18:18; cf. Jn 20:23).
Handing over the keys, as we have revealed in the commentary on the first letter, is equivalent to entrusting the task of managing the life that takes place inside the palace. It means giving the power to introduce into the house or to deny access.
The rabbis were convinced that they possessed the “keys of the Torah” because they knew the Scriptures. They believed that everyone had to depend on them, their doctrinal decisions, and their judgments. They felt entitled to discriminate between the just and unjust, between saints and sinners.
Jesus takes up this image in his harsh indictment against the scribes: A curse is on you, teachers of the Law, for you have taken the key of knowledge. You yourselves have not entered and you prevented others from entering” (Lk 11:52). Instead of opening the door of salvation, they barred them, not revealing to the people the true face of God and his will.
Jesus has taken away from them the key which they abusively appropriated. Now it is only his. Returning to the prophecy of Isaiah to Eliakim, the seer of Revelation declares that Christ and no one else, “opens, nobody shuts and if he shuts nobody opens” (Rev 3:7).
The spiritual edifice which Jesus refers to is “the kingdom of heaven,” the new condition where whoever becomes his disciple enters and the key that allows one to enter is the faith professed by Peter.
By handing over the keys to Peter, Jesus does not charge him to be the gatekeeper of heaven, still less to “lord it” over the people entrusted to him. Jesus instead tells him to “become an example to the flock” (1 Pt5:3). He entrusted him to open wide the entrance to the knowledge of Christ and his Gospel. Whoever passes through the door opened by Peter with his profession of faith (this is the “holy door”) has access to salvation,whoever refuses remains excluded.
The image of binding and loosing is also well-known because the rabbis of the time of Jesus employed it often. It referred to decisions on moral choices. To bind meant to prohibit, to lose was tantamount to declaring lawful. It also indicated the power to make judgments of approval or condemnation of the behavior of people and thus to admit or to exclude them from the community.
We will deepen and clarify this concept when, two Sundays from now, we will examine Matthew 18:18. In this passage, it appears that this same authority to declare who belongs to the kingdom of heaven and who does not is given by Jesus to the whole Church.
In conclusion, we can say that, from today’s Gospel, as in many other texts of the New Testament (Mt 10:2; Lk 22:32; Jn 21:15-17), it is clear that Peter is entrusted with a particular task in the Church. He always appears first, is called to feed the lambs and the sheep and must sustain his brothers in the faith.
Misunderstandings and disagreements are not born of this truth but from the way of performing this service.With sincere humility we admit it that throughout the centuries this truth has degenerated so many times, from being a sign of love and unity to becoming an expression of power.
As Pope Francis himself has expressly recognized, it is necessary to revise the exercise of this ministry, so that the bishop of Rome can become truly for everyone, according to the beautiful definition of Irenaeus of Lyons (second century), “the one who presides over charity.”
Fernando Armellini
Italian missionary and biblical scholar
https://sundaycommentaries.wordpress.com
