in Jesus Christ…, At an opportune time, Jesus tests his disciples with a crucial question: Who do men say that I am, and who do you say that I am? He was widely recognized in Israel as a mighty man of God, even being compared with the greatest of the prophets, John the Baptist, Elijah, and Jeremiah. Peter, always quick to respond, exclaimed that he was the Christ, the Son of the living God. No mortal being could have revealed this to Peter, but only God. Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD), an early church father, comments on Peter's profession of faith in Jesus: "Peter did not say "you are a Christ" or "a son of God" but "the Christ, the Son of God." For there are many christs [meaning anointed ones] by grace, who have attained the rank of adoption [as sons], but [there is] only one who is by nature the Son of God. Thus, using the definite article, he said, the Christ, the Son of God. And in calling him Son of the living God, Peter indicates that Christ himself is life and that death has no authority over him. And even if the flesh, for a short while, was weak and died, nevertheless it rose again, since the Word, who indwelled it, could not be held under the bonds of death." Jesus plays on Peter's name, which is the same Word for "rock" in both Aramaic and Greek. To call someone a "rock" is one of the greatest of compliments. The ancient rabbis had a saying that when God saw Abraham, he exclaimed: "I have discovered a rock to found the world upon." Through Abraham, God established a nation for himself. Through faith, Peter grasped, who Jesus truly was. He was the first apostle to recognize Jesus as the Anointed One (Messiah and Christ) and the only begotten Son of God. The New Testament describes the church as a spiritual house or temple with each member joined together as living stones (see 1 Peter 2:5). Faith in Jesus Christ makes us into rocks or spiritual stones. Jesus then confers on Peter's authority to govern the church that Jesus would build, a church that no powers would overcome because it is founded on the rock, which is Christ himself. Peter is not worthy of his election. We know this, even better than Peter does at this moment in the Gospel. Peter is the one who will betray Christ, denying him three times at his crucifixion. But this is another dimension of God's election, which is distinct from our contemporary one. Those who are elected to public office often view it as a personal achievement: I have been elected because I have earned this through hard work. God does not elect in this way. God often chooses those who are surprisingly unqualified for their mission. Abraham is a nobody, but he will be the father of many nations. Moses stutters, but he must speak the divine Word to Israel. David is the youngest son, not especially strong or powerful, and yet he will become the great king. God's election of Peter, and his election of all of us, remains a mystery. This is because election, for God, is an act of love. Love comes as a gift, not as something earned. And God delights not just in humanity in general, but in us as particular persons. God loves us in the concrete, calls us to the particular. Peter's election reveals at least a pattern of our own. Vocation is not something we look around for as if God has hidden a message through a variety of strange signs. Peter is called when he professes faith in Christ. If we are to know our call, we must profess faith in Christ as the anointed one, the Son of God. The mystery is not first and foremost a task of self-discovery, the construction of pro and con lists. Instead, it is opening a space in our hearts to receive this call from the God who is love, and thus gives and gives.The Lord Jesus offers us the gift of unshakeable faith, enduring hope, and unquenchable love - and the joyful boldness to proclaim him as the one true Savior who brings us the kingdom of God both now and forever. Who do you say he is to yourself and your neighbor?
"Lord Jesus, I profess and believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. You are my Lord and my Savior. Make my faith strong like Peter's and give me boldness to speak of you to others that they may come to know you personally as Lord and Savior and grow in the knowledge of your great love." God Bless You, Fr. Thomas