Homily for February 22, 2018.
“Blessed
are you, Simon Barjona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but
my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I
will build my church.” Matthew 16:17-18.
The saying
remains forever true that: “Leaders are Readers.” To be a leader at all, one
must have knowledge and to be a good leader, one has to have the right kind of
knowledge. Furthermore, to be a spiritual leader, one must know God; that is,
one must have the capacity of hearing from the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus
asked his disciples about his identity in Matthew 16, Jesus was basically
testing the disciples. He wanted to know which of them the Holy Spirit would
minister to. Up till that moment, his disciples did not really know who Jesus
was; to them, he was just a mystery; a puzzle they couldn’t crack.
In Mathew
8:27, we see how the disciples in their confusion and utter amazement wondered
aloud: “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” For Peter
to have given the right answer, Jesus knew it wasn’t just Peter speaking, it
was the Holy Spirit. “… For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but
my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 16:17.
By displaying
his ability to hear from the Father, Jesus immediately made Peter the visible head
of the church. Jesus was confident that the same Holy Spirit that spoke to
Peter that day at Caesarea Philippi would continue to speak to him to take the
right decisions, to say the right words and carry out the right actions to move
the church forward. It wasn’t going to be about Peter as a person but about the
Holy Spirit.
As we
honour the Chair of St. Peter today, we pray for the Peter of today’s world,
Pope Francis – that God would continue to inspire him as he inspired Peter. As
a man, Peter was weak, often frightened, erratic, quarrelsome and faithless; he
tried to dissuade Jesus from the way of the cross, he cut off someone’s ear, he
denied Christ three times after boasting, he went back to fishing even after
the resurrection of Christ. But as Pope, God used him perfectly to set the
standards of church leadership.
Like Peter,
we priests and religious are not free from our human weaknesses and often embarrassing
shortcomings. Peter himself pointed them out in his admonition to the elders
(priests) of the church. They include: unwillingness to tend the flock from one’s
heart (disobedience to/grudges against authority), serving for the sake of
money (canvassing for “juicy-parishes” where there are wealthy parishioners who
“know how to take care of their priest”), having a domineering attitude over
the people of God (carrying oneself like a god rather than being pastorally available
to the people; treating the poor like garbage), and not showing good example to
the flock. (Cf. 1st Peter 5).
Today,
many persons aspire for leadership positions both within the church and in
secular positions. Some are willing to kill whether with the sword, with their
lips or even with biro and paper. Remember what Jesus said to Peter during his
arrest: “Those who kill by the sword will die by the sword.” Matthew 26:52.
Leadership is service; it is not worth the “blood” of anyone. (G.E.J)
Dear
friends, there is nothing wrong with being ambitious for power, there is
nothing with canvassing for positions so as to get the opportunity to make life
better for people or to draw people closer to God. The question is: Do I have
the right kind of knowledge required for the job? In other words, Am I in tune
with the Holy Spirit or am I simply propelled by my selfish ego? Do I even know
Jesus?
Let us
Pray: Lord Jesus, bless our dear Pope Francis and all the leaders of the
church, despite their shortcomings, use them daily to uplift humanity integrally.
Amen.
Be happy,
live positive, it is well with you. Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. Bible Study: 1st Peter
5:1-4 and Matthew 16:13-19.
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