Thursday, August 8, 2002
18th Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Jer 31:31-34
Gospel: Mt 16:13-23
Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi. He asked his disciples, "What do
people say of the Son of Man? Who do they say I am?" They said, "For
some of them you are John the Baptist, for others Elijah or Jeremiah or
one of the prophets."
Jesus asked them, "But you, who do you say I am?" Peter answered,
"You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied,
"It is well for you, Simon Barjona, for it is not flesh or blood
that has revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.
And now I say to you: You are Peter (or Rock) and on this rock I will
build my Church; and never will the powers of death overcome it. I will
give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth
shall be bound in heaven, and what you unbind on earth shall be unbound
in heaven."
Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
From that day Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he must
go to Jerusalem; he would suffer many things from the Jewish authorities,
the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. He would be killed and
be raised on the third day.
Then Peter took him aside and began to reproach him, "Never, Lord! No, this must never happen to you." But Jesus turned to him and said, "Get behind me, Satan! You would have me stumble. You are their king not as God does, but as people do."
Commentary
Jesus chooses Peter to be forever the visible foundation of the building. In the future his successors will be for the Church what Peter was in the early Church. For the Jews "to bind and to unbind" meant to state what is forbidden and what is allowed. So Peter and his successors will have the last word about who belongs to and who do not belong to the body of believers, and what is, or is not, the faith of the Church. However, the recognition of this mission of Peter's successor does not mean that his word drowns all other voices in a silent Church. This text does not contradict other statements of the Gospel which are equally important, where the basis of the Church is a "college" of apostles, where nothing is done without dialogue.