Twenty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time-A
Today’s Gospel justifies the papacy. It recalls a moment in Jesus’ ministry when he asked his disciples what they had heard people saying about him. In response, the disciples recalled they thought he was St. John the Baptist; others thought he was the prophet Elijah or Jeremiah or some other prophet.
The conversation becomes specific to the disciples when Jesus asks his closest followers what they think. “But who do you say that I am?” The climax of the scriptural passage comes when Simon Peter responds, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus responded that Peter’s statement was so profound it came from his heavenly Father.
At that moment, Jesus established that Peter would be the first Pope and, in conjunction with the future Church, would be given the power from this proclamation to bind on earth what will be bound in heaven and conversely what will be loosed on earth will be loosed in heaven.
The structure of governance coming straight from Jesus is what members of the Church honor and hold as a condition of faith. It can be perfectly well to end our reflection on accepting Peter and his successors as the authority to govern the Church. But with most scriptural passages, there is more than just a first reaction.
Over two thousand years later, St. John Paul II himself, a successor of St. Peter, has one of the best takes on this topic. John Paul II suggests that every Christian, to have a meaningful relationship with Jesus, must answer the question of who he is. “We all know this moment in which it is no longer sufficient to speak about Jesus by repeating what others have said. You must say what you think, and not quote an opinion.” Clarifying further, he writes, “The best friends, followers of Christ have always been those who heard within them one day a definitive, inescapable question, before which all others become secondary and derivative. For you, who am I.”
Throughout a person’s faith journey, the question of who Jesus is recurs. When we are introduced to the faith in childhood, we implement the answer our superiors have given to us. We trust and accept their description that Jesus is the Son of God who became man through the Virgin birth.
For very few, the rudimentary answer is sufficient for those with little interest in growing their faith. But for those who normally grow in love for God and neighbor, rote answers do not suffice. At this stage of spiritual development, it is normal to describe our Jesus in concrete terms. It is not uncommon to describe Jesus as a Savior who can forgive sin, cure illness, and perhaps perform a miracle for us. These are all acceptable ways we interact with Jesus.
However, as our faith grows stronger, the primary reason for our closeness begins to change. What begins to be stripped away is the understanding that Jesus is our miracle worker; instead, we come to love him more deeply, not for what he can give us, but for a deeper connection.
Conversely, the opposite can happen. When a person loses their faith, it is often accompanied by disappointment that the Jesus they came to understand in some way did not fulfill what they expected him to be. They may have prayed for something that apparently did not come to pass. It could be an arrogance of success, thinking God had nothing to do with their good fortune. Other reasons exist, but it all comes down to the fundamental question of who we think Jesus is.
Answering the question freely is what faith is all about. There will be one day at the hour of our death when we will face Jesus, and it will be asked of us one more time. Pray you will answer that he is the source of our life and all the goodness, with our deepest desire to live with him and the saints. Then the question becomes moot. Until then, is our answer more about what he can give us or more about what we can do for him?