21ST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (A)

I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Mt 16:13-20

Click to go to << 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) 2011 >>

Click to go to << 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) 2008 >>

Today’s gospel reading may be divided into three acts or scenes: (a) Jesus asked his disciples who people think he is; (b) Jesus asked his disciples who they think he is. Peter answers in the name of the disciples; and (c) Jesus makes a solemn pronouncement to Peter.

The solemn pronouncement made by Jesus to Peter is of great importance because it establishes the primacy of Peter and his successors. It is on this text that the position of Pope Francis and his predecessors stands.

We must consider the fact that the Gospel of St. Matthew was written for the Jewish Christians living in Galilee and Syria. The purpose of the Evangelist was to strengthen their faith because they were starting to have doubts. They were also being persecuted and so the Evangelist wanted to encourage them to be strong. How does he do this? By recalling the confession of faith that Peter had made in Caesarea Philippi: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And then by ratifying that confession of faith when Jesus responded by saying: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.”

Now we shall focus our attention on the words of Jesus. These are the three statements: (a) Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah; (b) You are Rock and on this rock I will be build my church; and (c) I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed are you, Simon son of John. Jesus tells Peter that he is blessed because God had given him the gift of faith to believe that Jesus was the Son of God. Now not everyone has been given this gift of faith. Not everyone accepts Jesus as Son of God. The Muslims, for example, accept Jesus as a prophet but not as Son of God. We should, therefore, be thankful for the gift of faith. We should value this gift. It would not be right for us to say that being a Catholic and being born again or being INC are the same thing. No. It is not the same thing. How can we say that? Because they do not believe in all the things that we believe in.

You are Rock and on this rock, I will build my church. The original name of Peter was Simon. After that confession of faith, Jesus changed his name to Cephas. Now Jesus did not speak Greek or Latin. He, like the other Jews living in the Holy Land, spoke Aramaic. Cephas comes from the Aramaic word “kepa” which means rock. The Greek form would be Petros and Petra. Petros is Peter and Petra is rock. When a person is given a new name in the Bible, it means that he is also being given a mission. His mission would be to be a witness to Jesus and on his testimony Christians can find a strong foundation for their faith. Pope Francis will come to the Philippines in January. He will, of course, comfort the victims of Yolanda. But he comes as a pastor. That is why his visit is called an apostolic visit. And the purpose of any visit of the Pope is to strengthen the faith of the Catholics there.

Jesus makes a very important pronouncement. On this rock I will build my church. Jesus will build his church on Peter. He did not say that he will build his church on Felix Manalo who founded the INC. He did not say that he will build his church on Joseph Smith who founded the Mormons. He did not say that he will build his church on Ellen White, one of the founders of the Seventh Day Adventist church. Jesus said that it was on Peter on which he will build his church.

Finally, Jesus gave to Peter the power of the keys. “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” The power to bind and to loosen is the power to permit and to forbid. But it also includes the power to reconcile and to forgive. And this power is exercised in a very special way in the Sacrament of Confession. It is not surprising then that the official name of this sacrament is the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In this sacrament the sinner (and all of us are sinners, right?) is reconciled to God through the ministry of the priest. Pope Francis gives importance to this Sacrament. For example, in the last World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, Pope Francis heard confessions of the young pilgrims.

We can bring home with us three teachings from the Gospel: (1) We should be happy and grateful because we have been given the gift of the Catholic Faith. (2) We should hold fast to our Catholic faith because our faith rests on the witness of Peter, the rock on which Jesus built his church. And (3) we should value confession because it is the Sacrament through which we sinners are reconciled to God.