August 24^th 2014. TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

Gospel: Matthew 16:13-20

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini broadcast on Vatican Radio

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GOSPEL:                                  Matthew 16:13-20

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’
And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets’.
‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’

Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said ‘the Son of the living God’.
Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man!
Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.

So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church.
And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven;
whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’

Then he gave the disciples strict orders not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . The first reading speaks of a man who is removed from his office and replaced by another. The new man will be given the key to the House of David, a key that must be borne upon the shoulders. What kind of key could that be? In the Gospel, Simon professes his faith in Jesus and in return Jesus changes his name to Cephas, meaning rock. The Jewish high priest at that time had a variation of the same name, Caiaphas. We could think of this event as the removal of Caiaphas from his office and his replacement by Peter. Caiaphas was the one who denied the identity of Jesus. Peter was the one who confessed his faith in Jesus. Caiaphas was the one who put Jesus on the cross. Peter was the one who eventually took up the cross of Jesus. The cross of Jesus is the key to the Kingdom of Heaven. Once we take up the cross, then we become capable of acts that are ratified in heaven. The Lord opens doors for us and closes other paths. In our stubbornness we pursue paths and self-centred projects that the Lord has closed. Let us take this key to the Kingdom upon our shoulders! Let us, like Peter, follow Jesus fully and accomplish acts that are bound in heaven!

The First Reading gives us new insight into the Gospel passage

On this occasion we will read the celebrated text from St Matthew’s Gospel in the light of the first reading from the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah tells us how the master of the palace, Shebna, is to be removed from his office. The master of the palace is no ordinary servant but the most important figure in the entire administration of the household. Shebna is to be removed from his position and replaced by the servant Eliakim. There are a number of things in the Gospel passage from Matthew that can be appreciated more clearly when it is read in the light of the reading from Isaiah.

The difference between Caiaphas and Cephas: Caiaphas speaks according to flesh and blood; Cephas speaks according to the Father

Peter makes his profession of faith in Jesus as the Christ and in return Jesus changes his name: “You were Simon the son of Jonah, but from now on you will be called Peter.” The name “Peter” means “rock” and in Aramaic, the language of Jesus, the word is Cephas. At that time the Jewish high priest was called Caiaphas, a name that has the exact same meaning. It is as Jesus is removing the Jewish high priest from office and giving his position to Peter, just as happened to the master of the palace in the first reading. In fact, Caiaphas refuses to recognize Jesus for who he is, whilst Peter’s profession of faith results in him being made the high priest of the new church that is to be built upon him. “Blessed are you Simon, son of Jonah, because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.” If Peter had spoken according to the flesh, then he would have spoken in the same way that Caiaphas had spoken of Jesus. Peter, instead, was speaking according to a wisdom that the Father had given him.

What sort of key is borne upon the shoulders?

In the first reading, the new master of the palace will become a father for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He will have on his shoulders the key of the House of David. What is this key that will be laid upon the shoulders? The Gospel also speaks of a key that will be given to Peter – a key that binds in heaven whatever the Church binds on earth. But what sort of key needs to be carried on the shoulders? Not even the keys of the gates of a city would have been that heavy! Over the coming Sundays, Jesus will say that whoever wishes to be his disciple must take up his cross and follow him. In other words this is the key that must be carried upon the shoulders. Whilst Caiaphas puts Jesus on the Cross, Peter eventually learns to carry the Cross of Jesus, the cross that looses and binds. This is the key that permits Peter to carry out acts that will be replicated in heaven. Peter, in other words, will act in a way that reflects heaven. The sacrament of matrimony is a sacrament that binds in a heavenly way, not a mere earthly relationship. The sacrament of reconciliation frees from sin in a way that has eternal, heavenly validity. The church that will be built upon Peter will have the power to accomplish heavenly acts. That which we celebrate in the sacraments, that which is hidden in the life of the church and appears to be merely flesh and blood, is really being guided powerfully by the Father. The Church often has a weak, fragile and compromised appearance, but the Lord never stops working at the heart of things; the Lord never stops transforming the Church into the New Temple where God manifests himself.

How do we accept the key of the Kingdom of Heaven? The key is the cross and we must accept it by following Jesus completely. Once we do so, then we begin to accomplish heavenly acts that are reflected in heaven. We follow paths that the Lord has opened and avoid wasting time pursuing paths that the Lord has closed

We are called to accept this key. Jesus does not give the key immediately to Peter: “I will give you the key”. When will this happen? Peter will receive the key when he assumes upon himself completely the shame of Christ, when he has upon his shoulders the cross of Jesus. As St Paul says, when we take the cross upon our shoulders, we complete in our flesh that which is lacking in the cross of Christ. In other words we manifest another portion of the redemption that must be made present in every new generation. We bear the key of redemption upon our shoulders and with that key we are given the power to open the way to others. Believers see the love of God manifested in the cross of Jesus and come to know how to open and how to close the things that are essential. They learn how to forgive completely, how to accomplish heavenly acts. In the text from Isaiah, God tells Eliakim (who will have this wonderful key upon his shoulders) that whatever he opens no-one will close, and whatever he closes no-one will open. It is important to understand that the things of God are the things of God. Once God closes something, then that thing is closed. Once God opens the way, then that way is definitively opened. The wisdom of God is something that must be conformed with. How often we resist history! How often we fight against things that are closed to us! How often we put our narrow projects and plans in central place, seeking to manage the household in our own way, as Shebna in the first reading. We make ourselves masters of the palace, taking upon ourselves the task of saying what is open and what is closed. But this is mistaken. What we must do is seek to recognize what has been opened and closed by God. Sometimes good discernment requires being able to appreciate which paths in our lives are open, that which is grace-filled, that which has been placed into our hands by God. Good discernment requires avoiding roads that God has closed. We in our stubbornness waste an enormous amount of precious time pursuing useless paths that have not been opened by the Lord. Let us try to be attentive to the grace of God! What he opens will not be closed by anyone, and what he opens will never be closed. This is not fatalism but a correct evaluation of the life that the Lord has given us. The Lord places on our shoulders the key of the House of David. With this key – the Cross- he will open the Kingdom of Heaven.