August 21, 2011
Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time A
By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ
I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim's shoulder;
when he opens, no one shall shut
when he shuts, no one shall open.
I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot,
to be a place of honor for his family." Isaiah 22:22-23
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! Romans 11:33
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter said in reply,
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Matthew 16:15-16
Piety
Piety is a personal answer to the question Christ puts to Peter. The question “Who do people say that I am?” Christ puts to all of us. Peter’s answer “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” is almost easy for Peter to say because he has the personal experience of what walking with Christ has meant for him. He sees the differences being a friend of Christ has brought in himself. Piety allows us to walk with Christ. There are many ways to discover Christ in our lives. Some of the words we read in the scripture are actual words of Christ. Scripture Scholars argue about the words that Christ actually said. We know that what the early Church has in the gospels is based on the memories of the apostles and their disciples. When the early disciples began to die off, it became important to have the memories written down so as not to be forgotten. We come to appreciate who someone is by what they say about themselves. Actual words of Christ, what the Church remembers that captures the spirit of what Christ said or what our hearts tell us are the words of Christ revealing himself to us are important in so far as the words we are reading help us to see ourselves in relationship to Christ. Surrendering to Christ makes us into the Christs of today. Piety is what makes it possible for us to say; “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
Study
The word of God is spoken for us in persons, places and events. The love of Christ calls forth a response from our hearts. There is no way to the Resurrection with a bypass of the cross of Christ. Our salvation is and x plus y equation that finds its fulfillment in the actions of our lives. Paul reflects the difficulty of our study when he says; “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!” The heart has reasons the mind will never understand. If God did not reveal himself to us in the humanness of Christ, we would not know anything about God. Christ is the human expression of the wisdom of God. It is in Christ that we find the way to God.
Action
Christ builds the Church on Peter. Christ’s choice of Peter makes him important to us. How I open my heart to the judgments of the Church is how the Mystical Body of Christ that is the Church gets its life in me. The Church feeds us with the word of Christ. The Church calls us to be the Disciples of Christ in our ministry. Christ’s love has its ongoing form in the decisions and the actions of the Church. There are many gifts of the Spirit that are divided among the people of God. We live our gifts as the action of the one Spirit on the Church. We become the voice of Christ by our good actions. The words of St. Francis are on target. Preach always and occasionally use words. Our lives are the greatest action we can do in the name of Christ. In our love for one another Christians give life to the Church. Our love for one another brings new life to the Church.
