Reflection for the Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul, Cycle ABC
The lectionary translation of the readings for this Sunday can be found HERE
1st Reading:
Acts 12:1–11
People have a tendency to think of the persecutions as happening all over the ancient world all of the time for the early Church. In reality, the persecutions happened in localized places and there were periods of relative peace. Today’s story is an episode which occurred during the persecution by Herod Agrippa who ruled Judea between 41 and 44 CE. He was a supporter of Pharisaic Judaism which had lost some favor with the general public because of Stephen’s preaching. The persecution evidently brought him back some favor as you will hear in the reading.
2nd Reading:
2 Timothy 4:6–8, 17-18
This letter was written during Paul’s imprisonment in Rome. He had left a young Timothy in charge of the Church in Ephesus and wrote to him with instructions and encouragement. In the selection we have today, he is talking about his expected execution. The middle of this section has been left out, I guess to shorten the reading, but it is the part where Paul is expressing his loneliness and how he feels everyone but God deserted him. Nevertheless, he feels like he has done what God wanted of him and expecting his reward in heaven. I pray that we may all have the same attitude when our own death is on the horizon.
Gospel:
Matthew 16:13–19
Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. Mt 16:17-18
Setting & Parallels:
This episode is reported in all three synoptic Gospels; Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In Mark and Luke, Jesus asks “Who do people, or the crowds, say that I am?” and Peter’s confession is that he is the messiah. In Matthew, Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man and Peter’s confession adds Son of God to the Messiah. In Matthew’s Gospel this episode comes after the feeding of the four thousand and the Pharisees’ demand for a sign.
Signal Words/Phrases:
Son of Man, Messiah, Living God, Netherworld, Keys, Bind and loose
Verse by Verse:
Mt 16:13b “…Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” | The term Son of Man is only used as a title in the Christian Scriptures. In Hebrew Scriptures it always means “human being”. It is usually used in the general sense except in the Book of Ezekiel where God uses it to address Ezekiel; kind of like “hey human”. It is used 93 times in Ezekial and 14 times elsewhere in Hebrew Scriptures. For Jesus it maybe signifies that he is the ultimate human, the one who embodies the fullness of humanity and represents all humanity.
Mt 16:16 “…You are the Messiah…” | The word Messiah, Christos in Greek, literally means “the anointed one”. It signifies the one chosen and set apart by God for His purposes. Kings were referred to as messiahs, as were high priests and prophets and anyone else who was anointed. King Cyrus of Persia is also called messiah in Isaiah 44. The Jewish people expected a King (an anointed one) like David to re-establish the Kingdom and correct everything that was wrong.
Mt 16:16 “…Son of the living God.” | The term Son of God was not an uncommon term to be used to point to a relationship of a king, or other ruler in the ancient near East, to a God. In Egypt and for some Roman rulers, at least, it implied some kind of divinity in itself. With Jesus, who referred to God as my father in heaven it implied a real and complete father/son relationship wherein the son intentionally carried out the father’s will. The way in which Peter declares this implies, to me, that he understood the fullness of that relationship; Jesus acted with the authority of God his father.
Mt 16:18a “…You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church…” | Although it is not specifically stated, it appears that, for Matthew, the name change from Simon to Peter is related to Peter’s confession that Jesus is Messiah and Son of God. In the Gospel of John (Jn 1:42) the name change is given when Jesus and Peter meet with no reason given. The name Peter, a translation of the Greek Cephas, means “rock”. , Peter, the rock, and his understanding of the dual nature of Jesus, is the foundation upon which Jesus’s Church is built, solid rock.
It is important to note that the word we translate as “Church” is ekklēsia. The Lexham Theological Wordbook explains:
In Graeco-Roman culture, an ekklēsia referred to a political assembly. The Septuagint uses the term to translate the Hebrew word קָהָל (qāhāl), which means “assembly” or “congregation” and often refers to Israel’s religious gatherings. The NT use of ekklēsia reflects both of these uses of the term, though it probably deliberately applies the image of Israel’s congregation to the gathering of believers. In the NT the term can refer to a local or universal body of Christians.
Mt 16:18b “…and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.” | The Church is expected to endure.
Mt 16:19a “… I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven…” | The authority given to Eliakim (Is 22:15-25) as steward is descriptive of the meaning of the keys, which a royal steward wore around his neck as a symbol of his authority. His authority extended beyond the royal palace to the entire kingdom.
Mt 16:19b “…Whatever you bind on earth…” | here means his decisions will be backed up by God.
What the 1st hearers heard:
I think they heard that Jesus is the connection between the human and the divine and that living in the ordered assembly that is the Church is living in the Kingdom.
What would change if our community really heard this Gospel?
We would take Church discipline more seriously.
What is the good news in this Gospel?
We can experience, in some ways, living in the Kingdom now.
Gospel Reflection
The Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven
When people hear that Jesus is giving Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven, I imagine they are thinking of Peter taking his post at the pearly gates to let us in if we’ve been good and turn us away if we’ve been bad. That is not a good picture to illustrate this reading but it reminds me of a funny Church joke which I’ll relate after this reflection, in case you want to read it.
The keys imagery points back to Eliakim who was made steward of the House of David in Isaiah 22:15-25. Keys were pretty big those days and the steward wore them around his neck as a sign of his power and authority. In some ways, the steward ran things in the kingdom. It was more than just letting people in or refusing them access. In describing Eliakim’s position, the prophecy says, “He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.” Is 22:21 That’s Peter’s job, to run the kingdom like a father runs a household.
The importance of this is that Peter is given the authority of administering the Kingdom of God on earth; the Kingdom of God on earth being the Church. That means that, if everything ran perfectly, living in the Church is living in The Kingdom of God. The problem is that there is an imperfect human side to the institution we call Church. Many, if not most people, don’t feel like living in the Church is living in the Kingdom of God.
Church membership is down. Some say it is irrelevant to their lives. Others, after the Covid lockdowns say they discovered that they don’t miss it. Some are disappointed or angry with things that have occurred in the Church like the child abuse scandal. And others are upset about the Church’s attitudes toward different groups of people like its treatment of women and LBGQ+ people. The question for us, I think, is how do we live in the Kingdom, in the midst of all that, sometimes embarrassing, negativity and anger?
First, I think, it is up to us who have remained faithful, to continue to remain faithful. Remember this Gospel and remember what the Church is supposed to be. Imagine if the Church were more perfectly the Kingdom of God on earth, what that would look like. When an opportunity presents itself to help make it happen, help make it happen. Church reform has happened before and oftentimes it’s lay people who have made it happen. It requires that we care, that we reflect, that we pray, and that we actively be the change we want to see happen. But remember, it has to be under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It can’t just be earthly concepts of wisdom.
Secondly, get involved. For the Kingdom of God to be visible on earth, it is necessary that the members of the Kingdom are making it visible. Many parishes have outreach ministries, visitors to the sick and homebound, faith formation ministries, etc. etc. etc. Look for one you can get involved in or if you think there is one which is missing, talk to the pastor about starting it. Make the Kingdom of God visible.
A simple way to get involved was through the synodal movement that the late Pope Francis instituted. It was conducted in many dioceses, some more successfully than others. The synodal method is designed to let the people speak, and from their input, the Church tries to discern the voice of the Spirit within it. If people don’t participate, or if parishes don’t implement the process, it is harder for the Spirit to do his work.
And remember, when we say “amen” to receive Communion, we are saying amen to being a member of the Body of Christ, the Kingdom of God on earth. Do what St. Augustin said and affirm you “amen” by being the Body of Christ in the world when you leave Mass. We can do our part to make the Kingdom effective on earth and, if we do, we will no longer be faced with so many empty pews. People will want to be part of it.
“…thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…” Amen
God bless…
A Little Joke:
The monsignor and the cabby of a certain Irish village died and went up to heaven at about the same time. The cabby had died a few minutes earlier so when the monsignor got there, St. Peter was already showing him around.
He was showing the cabbie the house that had been prepared for him, a literal mansion with a swimming pool, a jacuzzi, a pitch-and-putt range and just about anything that could be imagined. The monsignor, seeing this, thought ‘Oh… I can’t wait to see what I’m going to get.
St. Peter returned and took the monsignor in to show him the remodeled garage that was his reward. No pool, no jacuzzi, no noth’n! The monsignor was livid and complained that the cabby was the town drunk and got such a great reward while he, a 55 yr servant of the Church, was getting next to nothing.
St. Peter explained… When people rode in the cabbies cab, they prayed their hearts out; real faith. When they listened to your homilies, they mostly slept; real disinterest.
Evidently, you get what you deserve…
Personal Reflection:
Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. Mt 16:17-18
Question:
What words or phrases attracted your attention during the Liturgy of the Word on Sunday? What connection do those words or phrases have to your day-to-day life? (Why do you think they attracted your attention?) What might God be trying to say to you through these words or phrases? What response should you make? What action should you take?
Alternative:
If you were to experience the reign of God/Kingdom of God here on earth, what would that look like? What would that feel like? What is the closest experience you’ve had to such a thing? What can you do to help others have such an experience?
