Isa 22:19-23; Psa 137(138):1-3,6,8; Rom 11:33-36; Matt 16:13-20
THEME: WHAT THEY SAY VERSUS WHAT I SAY
- WHO DO PEOPLE SAY THAT THE SON OF MAN IS?
Often, we hear such things like: “Do not give attention to what people say about you”, “It does not matter what people think I am”, etc. By asking his disciples such a question, Jesus shows that he expected his disciples to know what other people think about him. Jesus himself already knew what people were thinking him to be. But he also wanted his disciples to be aware of that because unless they know the opinions of others, they won’t know how different their own opinion is. Many books have been written about Jesus. Many people have tried to discuss Jesus, his personality and life through different ways. People tell of their opinion about God through their songs, poems, articles, testimonies, yes, through their lives. We must not play ignorant of them. What says the Bible about Jesus? What do the saints say about Jesus? How do theologians describe Jesus? What do the scientists say about Jesus? even people who think they do not believe in God, what is their opinion about God? We need to know these through reading, interaction, inter-religious dialogue.
- WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?
After the disciples finished quoting what they have read and heard others said about Jesus, Jesus then turned and asked them, “You, who do you say that I am?” A professor was asked to give a talk on the preciousness of life. He made a wonderful preaching, quoting many great authors and what they have said about life and its beauty. After the event, someone from the audience met him and said, “you quoted many authors and ended up saying little to nothing about your own position about life”. Jesus’s second question to the disciples shows that it is not enough to know what people say about him; it is not enough to know all the beautiful biblical passages that speak of Christ; it is not enough to know what Aquinas and Augustine said about God; it is not enough to know what my pastor, my preacher, my spiritual guide etc say about God. The most important is: who is Christ to me? What do I myself say about Christ?. When I speak, what do my words say about God? When I act, what do my actions say about Christ? When people encounter me, what type of God do they see through my words and actions? How is my opinion of God different from that of the world?
- WITHOUT THE SPIRIT OF GOD, NO ONE CAN SAY THAT JESUS IS LORD
Peter responded to Jesus: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”. Jesus acknowledged immediately that this Peter’s response was a revelation of the Father in heaven. The knowledge of who Christ is does not come from our human knowledge. It is always a gift from above. From the things around us, we can make some assumptions about God. But such knowledge as professed by Peter is only a gift of God from above, given to those who have disposed themselves for it, because as St. Paul puts it “…no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3). Hence, to know Jesus, we must be in deep communication with the Father; we must always be guided by the Spirit of God, for no one knows the Son except the Father who sent him. When we go to the Father, he leads us to understand the mystery of Incarnation, the meaning of God’s Son on the Cross, and the love of Christ for us. When we are in friendship with the Spirit of God, he makes us to see Jesus in our life situations and to recognize him even when we are in difficulties.
- THE ROCK OF CHRIST’S CHURCH
Out of the twelve disciples standing with Jesus, it was Peter whom the Father chose to reveal the identity of Jesus to. As such, Jesus considered Peter as a blessed one (v.17). This revelation of the Father to Peter achieved two things: it revealed to Peter and the disciples whom Jesus is, and it became a sign given by the Father to Christ regarding the person upon whom he would build his Church. Jesus chose Peter as the rock upon which he would build his church because the Father already chose him (Peter) and revealed Jesus’s identity to him. Since these men started following Jesus, he did not make anyone the leading steward of his ekklesia until the Father revealed Peter to him. In a way therefore, one could say that Jesus waited on the Father’s direction or sign in order to choose from the disciples, the one to whom he would make the chief-steward of his Church. God loves us so much as his people and cares for us. From time to time, he gives us signs on whom he has chosen to lead us, but the problem is that most of the time, we listen not to God, nor to his signs, but go after our individual selfish plans. In many cases, God shows us red light on a candidate, but because evil men are looking for their own selfish interest, God’s voice and signs are neglected.
- WHY PETER?
In a gathering where you have twelve men, some of them like Matthew were very educated, why was Peter chosen as the steward of Christ’s ekklesia? In the second reading, St. Paul provides us with the answer in form of a question: who has known the mind of the LORD Or who has become His counselor?” (Rom. 11:34 NKJ). The problem many of our South-Eastern governors had in the last Nigerian presidential election was the question: Why Peter? Unsearchable are God’s judgments and unfathomable His ways! (Rom. 11:33 NAS). No one is ‘nobody’ in the eyes of God.
- YOU ARE ONLY BUT A STEWARD!
In the first reading, Shebna, instead of remaining a humble steward, listening to God and following his ways, decided to build a life for himself out of the resources put into his charge. Just like many voices have been shouting that Nigeria is going into ashes, and many of the leaders entrusted with resources of the nation continue to use it to set up empires and lasting ‘security’ for themselves. We may deceive men, cheat men and run over them, but we can never cheat nor deceive God. Shebna was preparing security for himself and his family, in order not to allow himself to go into exile. When it was time for God to visit him, he not only lost everything, but he was also among the first to be carried into exile and to die there. When we are made to serve people and to be a steward over the general properties, we must be humble enough to know and respect what we are: mere stewards. That you are a local government chairman, C.M.O chairman, C.W.O chairlady, C.Y.O.N president, Vice chairman of the parish council, etc. does not make you more human or higher than every other person. Jesus did not tell Peter that he (Peter) would be his ekklesia. No…rather he told Peter that he (Peter) is the rock upon which he (Jesus) would build his ekklesia. As stewards, we must allow others, their future, their security, their good living etc to be built on us, on our faithfulness, on our trustworthiness, on our straightforwardness, on our accountability.
HAPPY SUNDAY!
Fr. Nnamah Chukwuezugo