“But Who Do You Say That I Am?” by Rev. Paul Berghout (@FatherP)

“But Who Do You Say That I Am?” by Rev. Paul Berghout (@FatherP)

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 121

Piety

I will clothe him with your robe, and gird him with your sash, and give over to him your authority. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. 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. Isaiah 22:21-22

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

You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18

Study

A while back, a couple of researchers in sociology and psychology published a book with the title “The First Four Minutes.” In it, they say that within four minutes, you will know if the person you are talking to is someone you’re interested in, what they may think of you, and whether you made a meaningful positive impression.

Jesus wanted to know what kind of impression he left on people. Some said he was John the Baptist, others like Elijah, still others, like Jeremiah or one of the prophets (Matthew 16:14).

But Jesus also said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

The individual response of Peter suggests that each believer must offer a personal reply. It is not enough to repeat what other people say.

How we answer this question will determine how each of us relates to him and will reveal something about who we are.

In his book, “Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am,” John Powell admits, “I have a hard time telling you who I am because I am a coward.” He says we only know that much of ourselves, which we have known, and the courage to reveal me openly and honestly takes the rawest kind of courage. He strongly pleads for honesty in recognizing and admitting our emotions and insists that a retreat from such openness fractures personality and hurts friendship and community.

I read a testimony of a recovering addict who said, “I had to bring into the light the thoughts and deeds I wanted to keep hidden. I hid my worst behavior from others for fear of what they would think. I hid the extent of the obsession even from myself by a kind of selective amnesia…” He says that he left that life of isolation years ago by joining a fellowship. That confession and repentance invited him to leave behind years of obsessive thinking and behavior.

How would I describe Jesus when he asks me, “Who do you say that I am? For Catechists, church employees, volunteers, priests, we can ask ourselves: “When was the last time you told your congregation what Jesus means to you?” You can always give a stock answer, however sincere, and say that Jesus is the Eucharist for me, or my Savior and Lord, etc. However, a personalized response is perhaps best. For me (off the top of my head), I could say, “Jesus gives me a higher goal than my interests and pleasures and limited way of thinking by showing me greener pastures and teaching me how to get there.”

Peter had a spirit-inspired answer: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Messiah is Hebrew for “anointed one,” and which corresponds to the New Testament title of “Christ.” Peter combined Christ with “Son of the Living God,” which was excellent Jewish theology since the Kings in David’s line were reckoned as God’s sons (2 Samuel 7:14, Psalm 2:7, Catechism 436). No one had combined “Christ” with “Son of the living God” before Peter.

Peter, in turn, is referred to as Cephas by Jesus, which is the Greek form of the Aramaic word Kepha which means large Rock. Since Jesus was speaking Aramaic, Peter is the Rock on which Jesus will build his Church.

Peter and Rock are the same. The nickname “Peter” means Rock, so Jesus is saying that personally, he the person Peter, and not his faith, is the sure foundation of Jesus’ Church.

Think of Peter and the Papacy. The Lord made Simon, whom he named Peter, the “rock” of his Church. He gave him the keys of his Church and instituted him shepherd of the whole flock.

Jesus wants to be your Rock, like Psalm 18:2, “the Lord is my rock [and the] rock [is] Christ.” (1 Corinthians 10:4). But he also named Peter, as a person, Rock.

Jesus went on to promise that the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against Peter and this Church. One modern anxiety is whether or not we can have any certain knowledge. Through this promise, we can.

The Supreme Roman Pontiff as supreme pastor of all the Christian faithful teaches a dogma on faith morals to be held by the whole Church.  For example, Mary’s Assumption into heaven and the Immaculate Conception of Mary; the immorality of contraception, which is also explicitly taught in Genesis 38.

Other infallible and divinely revealed truths do not need to be defined by the Pope.  These truths include the content of the Nicene Creed, the existence of original sin, the doctrine on the immortality of the spiritual soul and the immediate recompense after death, the absence of error in Scripture, and many others.

Opinions are a different matter.  In the encyclical letter “Saved by Hope,” (Spe Salvi, 47), Pope Benedict XVI presents an opinion for us to consider that “Some recent theologians think that the fire [of purgatory] which both burns and saves is Christ himself.”

Action

Heresy is the obstinate denial or obstinate doubt after the reception of baptism of some truth which is to be believed by divine and Catholic faith.  The appropriate response of the Christian faithful for the truths in Catechism and Catholic truth is to embrace and retain it firmly.

Conclusion-- I started by telling you about a book called “The First Four Minutes.” Fortunately for us, the main idea of this book does not apply to our relationship with Jesus Christ; it can always change for the better before time runs out.

I also mentioned another book by John Powell.  He pleads for a dynamic concept of the person, saying that “my person is not a little hard-shell inside of me…—since yesterday I have experienced more of life, I have encountered new depths in those I love, I have suffered and prayed, and I have changed since yesterday.”

Cardinal Newman said, “To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.”  Amen.