TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

30 AUGUST 2020

 

          Last Sunday, Simon identified Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God.  Jesus pointed out that did not have lucky guess, but a direct revelation from the Father.  In response, Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter, which means “Rock.”  On the rock of Peter’s profession of faith, Jesus will build his Church – not a physical building, but a community of believers who will be protected from the gates of the netherworld.  Within this community of believers, Jesus gave Peter authority, symbolized by keys to the kingdom of heaven.  Peter and his successors would be charged with binding and loosing:  teaching about the authentic identity of Jesus Christ; legislating to ensure proper order; and giving spiritual guidance to every age.

            Today, Jesus clarifies his mission as the Christ.  He has come as a humble suffering servant who will suffer greatly, as Jeremiah had suffered greatly for speaking the truth.  He will be killed by the religious leaders of his day.  He will be raised on the third day.

            Peter is horrified when he hears about this mission.  Like his contemporaries who had been waiting for centuries for the promised Messiah, he expected Jesus to be a conquering hero, like King David.  Peter could not imagine that the Son of the living God would be exposed to death, especially death on a cross.  Instead of remaining a rock responding to divine revelation, Peter now reacts as a mortal human and responds with horror and disbelief.  Jesus reacts strongly to Peter, as he had reacted strongly when Satan had tempted him in the desert to abandon his mission of suffering and death.  He calls him “Satan” for tempting him.  Peter, the “Rock,” now becomes Peter the stumbling block. 

            Even though Jesus reacts with anger, he does not tell Peter to get lost.  Instead, he tells him to get behind him.  In other words, he tells him to continue to follow him and learn how to be an authentic disciple.  In following Jesus, Peter and the other disciples will learn those lessons.  They will learn how to deny themselves, take up their crosses, and follow him.  It is a tough lesson, but they will eventually learn its truth, including the truth of the resurrection.

            It is a tough lesson for us today.  Like Simon Peter, we often stumble when we encounter the Lord’s command to deny ourselves.  We live in a culture that encourages us to focus on our own individual welfare and happiness.  If we are serious about denying ourselves, then we must move away from the desire to make ourselves the center of everything.  If we choose to bear our crosses, then we will be more willing to undertake some painful action or sacrifice to make someone else’s life better.  If we choose to get behind Jesus and follow him, we will learn some very important lessons.  We will learn that accumulating power or wealth or domination or status will not last.  None of these things will produce real authentic life.  None of these will win out over the great equalizer that is death.

            At this time, we are inviting people to consider turning more completely toward Jesus Christ and become part of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (the RCIA).  If you know of someone who is interested in becoming Catholic, please encourage them to contact Michael Rubbelke.  His contact information is in the bulletin.  We will work with those who have never been baptized or who have been baptized in another Christian tradition.  We will mark their growth in faith by celebrating Rites at Mass.  In the first Rite, we give each Candidate or Catechumen a precious gift – the gift of the cross.  It is the same gift that we give to infants about to be baptized.  We are upfront about the Lord’s demands to deny ourselves, carry crosses, and follow Jesus.  But we are also upfront about the results of authentic discipleship.  We trust the Lord’s promise that in losing ourselves, we will inherit a share in the resurrection from the dead.    

 

TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

SOLEMNITY OF SAINT PIUS X

23 AUGUST 2020

 

          As we continue to read from the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Jesus gradually reveals himself to others.  Even though he needed to be alone to grieve the death of John the Baptist, he pitied a huge crowd, taught them, healed their sick, and fed them with five loaves and two fish.  Then he walked on the water and calmed a fierce storm threatening the lives of his disciples in a boat.  Now, he asks his disciples to tell him who the Son of Man is.  They say that there are lots of opinions on the posts of people’s first century Facebook:  John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.  When he asks who they say that he is, Simon Peter says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

            This discussion happens at Caesarea Philippi in northern Galilee.  Scholars tell us that there were a dozen or more ancient temples in the area once used for worship of the god of fertility, Ba`al. A cavern in a nearby hill was said to be the birthplace of the Greek god of nature, Pan. There was a huge marble temple built by Herod the Great to honor the Roman emperor, Caesar.  Simon Peter has not hit upon a lucky guess.  The heavenly Father has revealed the truth to him.  At a place where people had searched for centuries for one who would save them, Simon Peter correctly identifies the true identity of Jesus as the Messiah. He has not come to deliver human words.  He is the Word made flesh.  He has not come to save his people from the Romans.  He has come to give his life completely for the salvation of all.

            In response, Jesus changes Simon’s name to Peter, which means “Rock.”  On this rock of Peter’s profession of faith, he will build his Church.  His Church is not a physical building, but a community of believers.  He gives the keys to the kingdom to Peter, symbolizing Peter’s role of leadership of this new Church, this new gathering of God’s holy people.  And he promises that the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.  

            We recognize the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, as the successor of Saint Peter.  Over the centuries, Popes have accepted their roles of loosing and binding on earth.  They have taught the authentic identity of Jesus Christ.  They have issued juridical laws that govern the Church.  They have offered spiritual direction to the flock entrusted to them.  All of the successors of Saint Peter have been flawed human beings, including Peter himself.  Some have focused more attention on their own needs rather than on the flock entrusted to them, much as Shebna had failed in his position as steward of the royal household.  But through heroic and saintly popes, along with immoral and corrupted popes, the Lord has kept his promise to his Church.

            We need to hear this message today.  We have gone through a very difficult period dominated by the clergy sexual abuse crisis, shaking the faith of many.  Now we are caught up in this pandemic.  Not only is everyone affected in one way or another, but we are divided about how to respond.  Despite all our weaknesses and sins, Christ continues to build us, the living stones, into his temple.  Christ never gives up on us and will protect us from the evil one.

            Today we celebrate the Solemnity of our patron, Saint Pius X.  At the beginning of the twentieth century, he faced enormous challenges and took the motto “To Renew All Things in Christ.”  He never abandoned his humble origins and complained about the pomp surrounding him as Pope.  He encouraged active participation in the Liturgy.  We ask his intercession today as we accept the challenge of renewing all things in Christ at the beginning of this 21^st century.  We pray for the current Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis, and all bishops in union with him.  We renew our trust in the promise of Jesus that his Church will prevail, no matter what.

 

NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

9 AUGUST 2020

 

          The prophet Elijah finds himself in a difficult situation.  As the only remaining prophet of God, he had won a tremendous victory over the prophets of the false gods at Mount Carmel.  He had effectively demonstrated that those gods were not real and had called on the people of Israel to return to the Covenant that had been sealed through Moses at Mount Sinai.  He had slain the prophets of the false gods.  That enraged the pagan queen, Jezebel.  She had ordered her troops to hunt him down and kill him.  Her death threats caused him to look past his victory and see only the threat of death looming over him.  Afflicted with fear, he wondered where God was.  But an angel fed him with water and hearth cakes and told him to walk forty days and forty nights through the desert to Mount Horeb, the name given by the northerners to Mount Sinai. 

            At the mountain, he looks for an epiphany, a manifestation of God’s presence.  But God does not manifest himself in the dramatic ways that Moses had experienced.  God is not in the wind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire.  Instead, he experiences the presence of God in a completely unexpected way:  in a tiny whispering sound.  Encouraged by this epiphany, Elijah returns to Israel to continue calling his people to be faithful to the Covenant.  He finds even greater success in the work done by Elisha, his successor.

            Seven hundred years later, the disciples of Jesus find themselves in an equally difficult situation.  Like Elijah, they too had experienced a victory.  They had been with Jesus when he tried to find a quiet place to mourn the death of his cousin, John the Baptist.  They had witnessed his compassion in setting aside his grief and tending to the needs of the crowd.  He healed the sick and fed the huge crowd with five loaves and two fish.  As he remained to pray, they are in a boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee in a terrible storm.  They fear for their lives.

            Jesus then manifests himself in an unexpected way.  He walks toward them on the waves.  At first, they think that it is a ghost.  They know from the Psalms that only God has power over storms and raging waters.  Jesus identifies himself with divinity by responding to them as God had responded to Moses in the burning bush:  “It is I.”  “Do not be afraid.”  Peter responds by asking permission to walk on the water.  But he quickly looks past Jesus and sees only the raging wind.  As he sinks into the water, Jesus grabs him by the hand and saves him.  Once Jesus has calmed the storm, Peter and the other disciples affirm his identity as the Son of God.  They will be commissioned to carry on his mission after his death and resurrection. Jesus entrusts the leadership of his Church (known throughout the centuries as the barque or boat) to Peter.

            We too find ourselves in a difficult situation.  Even though we had hoped to have put this pandemic behind us by now, we continue to deal with its continued assault on us.  The virus continues to ravage our lives like the storm at the Sea of Galilee.  And the arguments about how to handle this pandemic also rage.  We have become more acutely aware of injustice in our world, especially the lack of respect for the dignity of the human person, whether in the womb or in a person of another color or nationality.  We are deeply divided in ways that tear apart families and communities along political fault lines.  It is easy to keep our eyes on all these raging winds.  But Jesus invites us to focus on him, on his presence in our lives, and on his command that we need to take courage and not be afraid.  It is fear that keeps us from embracing the precautions that can save the lives of other people.  It is fear that causes us to lose hope and wonder if God is with us in this storm.  It is fear that keeps us from recognizing the unexpected ways in which the Lord manifests himself to us today.  We are together in this boat, this Church, this barque of Peter.  In the midst of all that rages around us, the Lord is with us.  He will not abandon us.