Homily
for August 27, 2017
With an over
two thousand year history, the Catholic Church today remains the longest surviving
institution ever known to man. Despite the attacks the church has suffered both
from within and outside its walls, how come the Catholic Church still remains
firm? How come it did not crumble under the Roman Empire? How come the church survived
the various political invasions? How did the church scale through the reformation?
Or more recently, how come the church did not end with the recent media propaganda
attacks regarding scandals?
The answer
to these questions is contained in our Gospel passage this morning: “You are
Peter and upon this Rock, I will build my church and the powers of death shall
not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18.
The secret
behind the success of the Catholic Church is that God himself is the leader of
the church. That is, the church is a visible expression of the power and
presence of God among human beings. Note
that Jesus did not say to Peter, “You are Peter and I give you power to build a
church for me….” No, instead Jesus said: “Upon this Rock, I (Jesus himself)
will build my church…”
So who is
building a church? God! Who is really in charge? God! Tell me, who can battle
with the Lord? (song…).
God is the
one who builds the Catholic Church and God is the one who sustains the Catholic
Church and that is why the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. The Pope is
only a figure head; figure head in that the survival of the church does not
depend on his personal intelligence, holiness or might neither can it be
affected by his personal weakness.
Yes, I used
the word “figure head” not to undermine the greatness of the office but to
point out that God himself is the one in charge. And no matter how weak or ordinary
the Pope may be, the Church cannot fall because of his personal weakness. In
fact, it should not surprise you that when we read a few verses beyond where
our Gospel passage today ends, Jesus addressed this same Peter in these words: “Get
behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your
mind not on divine things but on human things.” Matthew 16:23
Unlike any
other establishment, Peter did not have and did not need to have any personal qualifications
for the job. He was just an unschooled fisherman, even his spirituality was not
all that refined, his faith was even a shaky faith. Recall that last two
Sundays, we read about how Peter attempted to walk on water to meet Jesus only
for him to start sinking because he was afraid. (Matthew 14:28-33). This same
Pope Peter would one day deny that he ever knew Jesus.
So, if it
were to be a matter of personal qualification, or if it was the case that Peter
himself was the one building the Church, there was just no chance of this
church surviving. This is the reason why, after Peter answered correctly the
question about the true identity of Jesus, Jesus said to Peter: “Flesh and
blood has not revealed this to you but my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 16:17.
What is my
source of knowledge? There is knowledge that comes to us from flesh and blood,
this is knowledge that depends on our education, knowledge we acquire by
reading books and studying hard. This knowledge is always unreliable but there
is knowledge that comes to us because God himself speaks through us.
For Jesus,
the mere fact that God can speak through Peter meant that God had chosen him
for the office. Hence, Jesus spells out nature of the office by saying: “Whatever
you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth
shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19.
This is
why we respect the Pope. This is why the millions of true Catholics all over
the world would readily obey the Pope. We respect him not because he has any
personal qualifications, not because he is a white man, but because we believe
that God speaks through him. We respect the Pope because we believe his source
of wisdom is not flesh and blood. We respect the Pope because we know that
Heaven respects his decisions; that whatever he binds on earth is binding in
heaven.
Dear
friends, the truth is that all power belongs to God and God alone has the power
to transfer power and authority to any human being he so chooses. As we read in our first reading, there is a
transfer of power from Shebna to Eliakim and God said: “I will place on his
shoulder the key of the house of David, he shall open and none shall shut; he
shall shut and none shall open.” Isaiah 22:22.
We may
wonder, why did God give Peter so much authority and power? Could God not have
been able to lead the affairs of His Church without using any visible leader or
structure? In fact, who am I to question how God does his things? Can we really
question God? No wonder St. Paul tell us in our second reading today: “O the
depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God… for who has known the
mind of God or who has been his counsellor? Romans 11:33-34.
Dear friends,
all authority comes from God. Whatever position you find yourself was given to
you by God not because you are qualified. So don’t brag about it, use your
authority in humility to serve others.
Let us
pray: Lord Jesus, enlighten my heart to respect those you have put in charge of
me. Amen.
Happy
Sunday. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God
bless you. (21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A. Bible Study Isaiah
22:19-23, Romans 11:33-36 and Matthew 16:13-20).
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