Readings (Year A):
Isaiah 22:19-23
Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8
Romans 11:33-36
Matthew 16:13-20
Reflection: St. Peter, help us to do God’s will
I wonder what Peter felt when Jesus said, “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.” Was he honored to receive such a charge? Did he become overwhelmed with the weight of such impending responsibility? Did fear overcome him? Or maybe he experienced a mix of all of these emotions, as humans often do when they receive such big news, especially from someone they admire so much. And Peter saw Jesus as more than a mentor, more than a teacher. As he declared in today’s gospel passage from Matthew before receiving his holy charge, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
We Catholics view Peter as our first pope, the human foundation upon which Jesus Christ built his church on earth. It is humbling for me to consider that Jesus appointed someone as human and as flawed as Peter to do this work of great leadership. Jesus already would have known that Peter would deny him before the crucifixion and not be present at the foot of the cross. Peter was afraid, and I do not believe that day was the first time that Peter showed his fear. I believe that Jesus had a front row seat to the fears and human emotions that Peter, and indeed all of his disciples, would have shown. Jesus not only knew the human experience because he walked it himself; he witnessed it in the people he walked with on this earthly plane.
And even in knowing us and all of our emotions, and thoughts, and vulnerabilities, he chooses to call upon us to do his holy bidding, to be his vessels here on earth. Him choosing Peter as the first pope reminds me that he does not call the perfect, or even the qualified. He calls the chosen. He chooses the people in whom he sees and notices their holy potential. And he helps us to become who we are meant to be in God’s love and grace.
How is God calling each and every one of us today? How might you be called to stay grounded in the foundation that Jesus left us, yet also realize that you are being called to take church outside of the confines of a building or institution? Jesus loves your humanity and believes that each and every one of us is holy because of it, not in spite of it. And he gives us important work to do to keep the larger meaning of church alive and healthy. My personal ministry is to be there for people who do not feel welcome within the walls of many traditional churches, typically because of wounds that they’ve experienced within the church.
In thinking about your personal ministry for the God of your understanding upon this earth, I encourage you to call upon the intercession of St. Peter, our first holy father, for strength and inspiration. If anyone knew what it was like to love the Lord and to be called to do something so much greater than himself, it’s Peter. I have no doubt that Peter experienced such a variety of human emotions throughout his life. Yet he specifically knows what it means to be asked to serve in such a special way, and to experience all the feelings that go with it.
St. Peter, pray for us. As we endeavor to do the holy work of our Divine calling this day, may you fill us with a grace to navigate our human emotions, and recognize that in our humanity rests the key to faithful service to Jesus and to his church. May we recognize that church is so much vaster than any building or institution. And may we see Christ in every human being that crosses our path. Bless us in our service, and help us to find faith in fear. Amen.
