Homily for Ordinary Time – 21st Sunday Year A 2020
Isaiah 22:19-23, Romans 11:33-36, Matthew 16:13-20
Introduction
You have probably heard the argument: “Why
should I confess my sins to a priest, a sinful man like me, instead of
confessing directly to God?” Perhaps
you, yourself have given that reasoning as your excuse for not going to
confession.
Similarly, a few months ago, I was talking
to a young lady who had doubts about her self-worth. But since I was only a visiting priest, I
suggested that she talk to somebody: her priest, the school counsellor, a
trusted relative, even her friends. But
she too replied to me: “If God knows my problems and is not helping me, why
should I talk to others? How will they
help me?”
These questions reflect a problem in our society,
the failure to understand that God works through other people to help us, to save
us to give us his blessings. He has
always done it this way and continues to do so today.
Scripture and Theology
From the very beginning, when Adam and Eve
and their descendants sinned, God used Noah to save the few faithful ones. He later used Abraham to start a people, the
people of Israel that would be his, and that would be the sign and instrument
of salvation for the world. How can we
forget Joseph, the son of Jacob, sold into slavery, who saved Israel during the
famine generations later! How can we
forget Moses chosen by God to free the people from slavery in Egypt, and his sister
Miriam and brother Aaron? Then there came
Eli the priest, Samuel the prophet, David the King. Then we have prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah
and Ezekiel and others. And at the end
of it all, God sent his Son, Jesus, who as a man walked and preached in the
hills and valleys of Palestine.
It should not surprise us then that Jesus
continued to operate in the same way. He
chose twelve close friends, the Twelve Apostles, trained them and appointed
them over his Church when he returned to the Father. And in today’s gospel passage we see him take
a further step and pick one of them, Simon and elevate him to a position of
leadership over the others.
Was Simon the smartest of all the
disciples? Probably not; that title would perhaps go to the lawyer Matthew, or
the writer John. Was Simon the one with
the most leadership qualities? Again, probably
not. In fact, if you remember Simon is
often goofy and often puts his foot in his mouth. Just a few weeks ago we heard him try to walk
on water to meet Jesus but he became afraid and began to sink. The Lord rescued
him saying, “O you of little faith, why
did you doubt?” At the
Transfiguration, his mouth seemed to go ahead of his mind when he suggested
they build three tents and basically stay there on the Mountain. And of course, we cannot forget his denying
Jesus not once, not twice, but three times during the Passion of Jesus. Why then does Jesus say to him: “so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon
this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not
prevail against it”?
There is an expression used by those who
promote vocations, that God does not choose the able, he enables those he
chooses. This principle applies in a
particular way to Peter, who was clearly not very able, but with the Lord’s
power he was enabled to carry out this great mission. For when others had given wrong answers to
the question of who Jesus Christ was, some thinking of him as John the Baptist,
others Elijah or another of the long-dead prophets come back to life, only Simon
gives the correct answer: "You are
the Christ, the Son of the living God.” He confesses that Jesus is the promised
Messiah who has come to free God’s people from sin. But notice that Jesus does not attribute this
correct answer to Simon’s own intelligence.
He says: “Blessed are you, Simon
son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly
Father.” Simon is enabled by God to
say the right thing as are his successors the Popes, who don’t act in their own
name, but in the name and power of Jesus Christ.
Jesus thus changes his name to Peter, which
means “rock” and entrusts him with the task of being the rock of the Church,
the source of unity for the Church, the one to feed the sheep, the one who strengthens
his brothers.
Christian Life
Since Peter, Popes have carried on that
same task of feeding the sheep. To be
honest, some did a terrible job at it, like Shebnar, the King’s chief of staff
in the first reading. But most did a
great job, like the last three popes that we have had.
When Pope John Paul II visited Uganda in
1993, I was in college and I was fortunate to attend one of his Masses and see
him from about five feet away, as he walked to the altar. Some of you here might remember his visit to New
Orleans in 1987. As we know, with his
world travels to 129 countries, Pope John Paul showed the world and Catholics
that the Pope is the father, the papa of all Catholics, just like Jesus told Peter
to strengthen his brethren.
But John Paul II, now Pope St. John Paul II
did not just travel, he travelled to deliver a message to the world. He had many things to say. But his primary message was: "Do not be afraid." Put your faith
in Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the World.
This is a message we need to remember again and again, especially during
these times of uncertainty.
John Paul II was succeeded by Pope Benedict
XVI. I was fortunate that my time of
graduate studies in Rome began when he had just been elected Pope. I often saw him in St. Peter’s Square. I was even once within five feet of him at a
private audience, and saw close up how humble and shy a man he was. I vividly remember the first words he spoke
when he was elected Pope. He said:
After the great Pope John Paul II, the
Cardinals have elected me, a simple and humble labourer in the vineyard of the
Lord. The fact that the Lord knows how
to work and to act even with inadequate instruments comforts me, and above all
I entrust myself to your prayers.
Most of all, Pope Benedict taught us a lot. He used his great intellect, always clear,
precise and insightful, to remind us to return to the truth of Jesus Christ.
And now we have another Peter, Pope
Francis, the first non-European Pope in modern times. Several years ago, I attended a Mass presided
over by him in St. Peter's Basilica.
Since I was seated right behind the altar, with a clear line of sight, I
saw how reverently he celebrated the Mass.
But the biggest contribution of Pope
Francis is that he always preaches a message of love and mercy. He wants all God's sheep, both those in the Church
and outside, to receive God’s love and mercy: the unborn and the dying, children
and elderly, the sick and the disabled, prisoners and immigrants, people with
same-sex attraction as well as the divorced and remarried. He has even made it a point to visit
countries with very few Catholics like Japan, and Morocco, a Muslim-majority
country. Like Jesus he has reminded us of the poor.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, many, even Catholics, do not
turn to Peter to be the rock of their faith.
Many think of the pope as a politician and will often ask me: "So
who is your favourite pope?" I
usually think to myself: "What a stupid question? Would you ask a child which parent they
preferred, or a parent, which child?"
Our Popes are not political candidates to be liked or disliked. They are entrusted by Christ to captain the
Church, often a thankless job, one wrought with attacks even from their own
sheep and like for Simon, even martyrdom.
We all want to go to heaven. Our best bet then should be to follow the successors
of the man to whom Jesus said: “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of
heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall
be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
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