It’s hard, isn’t it, to escape
politics these days! So, in the midst of two national political
conventions and the seemingly endless lead-up to the election, it’s
probably not surprising that politics came to mind as I reflected on
today’s readings. Maybe you noticed that both the reading from Isaiah
and the reading from Matthew’s gospel dealt with elections: election to
high office, removal from office, fitness – or unfitness – for office,
the handing over of power. Neither of the readings, of course, reflected
the kind of world we live in today so we were happily spared the
downside of democracy with its political infighting, petty partisanship,
posturing, name-calling, fake news, and the search for leadership we can
trust.
Instead of all that, we
got, in the readings, two very straightforward elections, two very
straightforward conferrals of power: Eliakim, who succeeded the
disgraced royal official, Shebna, received his mantle of power directly
from God, and Peter got his power, his mission, directly from Jesus. No
room for messy politics in either case!
But, relax! that’s as
much as I’m going to say about politics this morning. I’m just happy if
I got your attention! I’m far more interested in talking about Peter
than I am about politics - Peter, who, if you’ve been following the
Sunday readings, enjoys a very high profile in Matthew’s gospel.
Today, Peter gets the highest profile possible. In fact, it could be
said that, when Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon, Son of Jonah,” he
was pronouncing a ‘ninth Beatitude!’
This particular passage
from Matthew’s gospel is foundational for understanding the key role
Peter was given among the Twelve, the pivotal role Jesus gave him for
the leadership and building up of the Church. The entire passage bears
exploring. It begins with Jesus putting two questions to his disciples.
First, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” The disciples answered
that one well. They reported that people saw him as standing in the
great tradition of the prophets (“some say John the Baptist; others,
Elijah; still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets”). But Jesus’
follow-up question was far more personal and far more probing: “And
you,” he said, “who do you say that I am?”
Peter, ever the
extrovert and, in this case, the inspired extrovert, was the one to
answer the question: “You are the Christ,” he said, “the Son of the
living God!” And for that answer, this appealing, lovable,
ever-so-human fisherman-turned-follower got his name changed from Simon
to Peter, or Rock. He became the rock on which Christ would build
his Church.
But Peter wasn’t always
a rock, as you well know. It’s true that at one moment Peter could soar
to the heights with inspired professions of faith like “You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God!” and “Lord, to whom shall we go? You
have the words of everlasting life!” and “Even though all desert you I
will never desert you!” – Peter could soar to the heights but at the
next moment he could sink to the depths. In fact, in the verses which
immediately follow today’s gospel reading, Jesus calls Peter a “Satan”
and a stumbling block, and tells him to get out of his way, to get
behind him!
Peter will always be the
perfect embodiment of the way God uses weak, flawed humans to achieve
divine purposes. Peter is not only the rock on which the Church is
built, he is also an image of the Church in all its humanness. So much
of what Peter was, the Church is. And, of course, we are the Church….
My friends, we should
find it encouraging to see what Jesus was able to do through Peter
despite his obvious flaws. Peter is a sign of hope for us all. Like him,
most of us live somewhere between absolutely affirming Jesus and
deliberately denying him. Like him, too, we have to find an answer to
that great question of Jesus: “And you, who do you say that I am?”
We will never deal with a more important question than that one. Never!
Which brings me to a wonderful story about St. Peter that is legend, not
gospel. Think of it as one of those things that should have happened
even if it didn’t. During the Emperor Nero’s persecution, it seems that
Peter saw that he was in mortal danger and decided to get out of Rome
while the getting was good. As he fled from the city along the
Appian Way he met Jesus who was headed in the opposite direction –
toward Rome. In this story, unlike today’s gospel story, Peter,
not Jesus, does the questioning: “Domine, quo vadis?” he asks. “Where
are you going, Lord?” And Jesus answers, “I am going to Rome to be
crucified.” Peter, chastened, turned on his heels and headed back to
Rome. To be crucified.
Of course, my friends,
that story exists only in legend. But today’s gospel question is
anything but legend. It is real – very real. “You, who do you say
that I am?” It is a question we must answer many times over a
lifetime. We answer it not so much with words as by the way we live our
lives, by the values we espouse, the ethics we embrace, the justice we
champion, the politics we profess, and the candidates and causes we
choose to support. And, yes, it’s also a question we answer every time
we gather to celebrate the Eucharist. Our answer to the question, if
it’s courageous and if it costs us, will be our key to the kingdom of
heaven!
Father Michael G. Ryan
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