Thursday, August 8, 2013 18th Week in Ordinary Time St. Dominic1st Reading: Num 20:1-13
Gospel: Matthew
16:13-23
Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi. He asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of man is?” They said, “For some of them you are John the Baptist, for others Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
Jesus asked them, “But you, who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied,
“It is well for you, Simon Barjona, for it is not flesh or blood that has revealed this to you but my Father in heaven.
“And now I say to you: You are Peter (or Rock) and on this rock I will build my Church; and never will the powers of death overcome it.
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and what you unbind on earth shall be unbound in heaven.”
Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
From that day Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem; he would suffer many things from the Jewish authorities, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. He would be killed and be raised on the third day.
Then Peter took him aside and began to reproach him, “Never, Lord! No, this must never happen to you.” But Jesus turned to him and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path. You are thinking not as God does, but as people do.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE (Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
With the keys of heaven symbolically given to Peter, Jesus committed God’s approval to Peter’s decisions. There is no office as powerful as binding heaven to one’s official acts on earth. Notwithstanding this important office, Peter remained mortal and had to pass it on upon his death. The popes that succeeded him likewise died but the office of papacy endured. As long as Christ remains faithful to his commitment to be with us until the end of time (Matt. 28:20), the papacy will endure.
One major consequence of popes running the Church is vulnerability. The scandals within the Church today are nothing compared to the scandals in the past. Jesus knew human weakness could get the upper hand yet he took the risk of entrusting his Church to human popes, not to Archangels. In any case, would we be better off with St. Michael the Archangel running the Church as pope?
Maybe yes. But one obvious advantage of humans occupying the papacy is that in human weakness “God’s power reaches perfection” (2 Cor. 12:9). The Church, in fact, has remained holy despite the frailty of the popes exercising Peter’s singular privilege of binding and losing on earth. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email:dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website: www.frdan.org.
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